Weight of expectation

There is something jarring and obtuse about squeezing complex ideas into the very narrow prism of the cultural wars of North America and Europe. Sadly, that is what we have seen for the past week as ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ react to the Pope’s visit to the US.

When I see pictures and footage of the Pope undertaking these tours with a genial, sardonic and sometimes beaming, expression on his face, I often wonder if he enjoys confusing the categories and defying the stereotypes with which we would bind him.

Commentators this week have suggested that he has both enraged conservatives, but also that the ‘liberal noises’ he makes are insincere. It is true that he often rails against legalism and seems to want to bring a pastoral gentleness to his office, that in the past has been seen as harsh and brutal in its judgmentalism.

In The Spectator, Theo Hobson writes of Pope Francis: “He seems to think that the Church needs an element of good-cop-bad-cop. I’ll be good cop, he says, and distance myself from the moral rules that make us seem so bad to liberals. It was a nervous start against Fiji and a disastrous final few minutes against Wales. The weight of expectation on the shoulders of England teams of all sports often proves paralysing to their hopes of success.

And the avalanche of criticism after even such a narrow loss is excessive and self-defeating. Teams are at their best when they are composed of confident individuals expressing themselves freely and joyfully. An English sportsman must feel miserable, fearful and timid in the media spotlight, the criticism and the insecurity of selection.

The true rugby fan must congratulate Wales for their determination and fighting spirit while commiserating with England for understandable mistakes, which cost the match. Then we will hope and pray that England can follow the example of the recent Ashes victory and defeat the Aussies soundly.