Pope connects with everyday Americans
One must assume the Pope knows a thing or two about the Bible, so the symbolism of his actions as he ended his first visit to the United States — with stark allusions to a famous parable on a Christian life of service — couldn’t have gone undetected.
And whether through clever command of public relations or as a natural eruption from Pope Francis’s personal urges, the conclusion of the pontiff’s visit, as he held an outdoor Mass before a crowd of about a million in Philadelphia, leaves a compelling — and perhaps lasting — image of a Pope rebranding modern Catholicism by forcing the spotlight on to its charity, mercy and joy.
Over six days and three cities, Pope Francis personified the biblical parable from the book of Matthew: feeding the poor, welcoming strangers, caring for the ill, visiting those in prison.
He skilfully mixed meetings with the most powerful alongside personal sessions with those at the lowest social stations.
In Washington, D. C., he began his schedule with a visit to the White House and ended by blessing food for the poor. In New York, he gave an address to the United Nations General Assembly and then held Mass from a chair built by troubled youth. And, in Philadelphia, he started at Independence Hall and then visited inmates at CurranFromhold Correctional Facility.
Along the way, he paused — reached out — and touched some of the throng who travelled to see him, creating touching papal moments that echoed his words.
After arriving at the airport in Philadelphia, for instance, he asked his driver to stop his car so he could walk to a 10- year- old boy in a wheelchair he had spotted; he stroked his hair, kissed his head and blessed him.
At a prison, he greeted each inmate, telling them, “I am here as a pastor, but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own.” His message resonated. “It’s a hallmark of his papacy, that wherever he goes he’s not just with the VIPs, but he also goes to the people on the margins,” said Neil MacCarthy, director of communication for the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, who was in Philadelphia Sunday, along with about 1,000 Canadians, for the Pope’s visit.
“In a special way, Francis seems to really connect with people. He’s been called ‘ the people’s Pope,’” MacCarthy said. “They’re not just here to see a rock star, but to see someone who is the rock of our faith.”
But the Pope’s visit wasn’t all about pleasantries.
He willingly dropped into some of the divisive elements of the culture wars in the U. S., from his subtle rejection of a fuel- hungry SUV for a small Fiat to his hard words at the United Nations condemning the “boundless thirst” for wealth and power.
Amid a presidential race that features heated anti- immigration rhetoric, Francis spoke to politicians at a joint meeting of the U. S. Congress about “rejecting a mindset of hostility,” he said, “because most of us were once foreigners.”
During a meeting with bishops, Francis publicly referred to gay marriage, lamenting the new reality in which Christians must live. But he urged bishops to redirect their energy, saying a church that does nothing but complain and explain its doctrine is “stuck in a vicious circle.”
Francis also met with victims of child sexual abuse saying he was “deeply sorry” for the times they came forward to tell their story and weren’t believed.
As he left for Rome, debate continued over the lasting impact of his visit and whether people were listening to what he wanted to say, or hearing in his words what they were looking for.