Pope’s comments show ‘patience attains the good’
His words about ‘civil unions’ will have great impact in much of the world
My dad would have turned 90 last week if he were still around. I only knew him until he died at the nearly ripe old age of 63. Here I sit only five years away from that number myself. He never knew me as an out and proud lesbian because I wasn’t there back then, but I trust by his demonstration of love and support until his dying day, he knew I was a closeted and scared one.
My dad was a funny guy, offering dry and wry wit even on miserable days. I wonder if everyone feted on Oct. 15, has a superior sense of humour. The liturgical calendar announces that same day as the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, one of only four female Doctors of the Church, but definitely the funniest. She was a Carmelite nun and reformer who lived in the 16th century and left behind some great one-liners.
One oft’ quoted is said to have concluded an honest dialogue she had with God, following a dip in the mud as she was kicked off her donkey. “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few!”
She not only liked to poke fun at God, but she got in a few jabs at earthly practices and people with this one. “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.”
Teresa also seems to have been a bit of a poet, showing her preferential treatment of the happy with,
“Sad nuns are bad nuns.”
If she were alive today, I am sure she’d be doing standup comedy and TED Talks and her wisdom and wit would be amplified on every platform. Pope Francis made it to the world of TED Talks in 2017, with “Why the only future worth building includes everyone.” Now he has moved on to the big screen.
You may have seen him played by Jonathan Pryce in the highly fictional “Two Popes,” still streaming on a platform near you. Now you will be able to watch him play himself in “Francesco” for a much more accurate portrayal. The movie is a continuance of his TED Talk theme as he is interviewed on issues close to his heart such as the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and people most impacted by discrimination.
After the première on an actual big screen at the Rome Film Festival last week, (while the rest of the world is going to virtual events, the red carpet in Rome stayed real) the news world lit up with quotes from the film.
“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God … What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
Those words about “civil unions,” spoken before when he was a cardinal, are even more impactful now as head of the church.
They may not seem important in a country like Canada where samesex marriage has been around for over a decade, but it will have huge reverberations around the world.
This is especially true in countries where “homosexuality” (an archaic and medicalized term that finds no favour here) is still criminalized and the offering of marriage licences is a far-off dream.
Ssenfuka Joanita Warry knows this is true and understands the immense influence the Pope can have on the 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, many in her homeland of Uganda. She heads “Freedom and Roam Uganda,” a Queer rights organization, and has called on the Pope in the past to speak out in favour of LGBTQ people. I am sure her advocacy has had some influence on him.
In the film, the Pope also speaks to family life, saying LGBTQ people, “have the right to be in a family … You can’t kick someone out nor make their life miserable for this.”
That is a message I know many parents still need to hear as queer and trans youth make up 50 per cent of the homeless youth in this country and are there because they were kicked out or their lives were made so miserable by the closet they were forced to occupy they had to leave.
St. Teresa knew life could be miserable and the journey to justice slow, hence her humour. However, as she reminded us in all seriousness, “Patience attains the good.” Deirdre Pike is a freelance columnist for The Hamilton Spectator. St. Teresa said, “It seems to me I have explained this matter, but perhaps I’ve made it clear only to myself.” If that is the case here, please drop me a line for clarification to dpikeatthespec@gmail.com.