Child of the Church

The tour de force that took place recently in the panoramic South American city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was of course the visit of Pope Francis for the World Youth Day celebrations. It was Francis’ first ever encounter with an enormous crowd and it tested his penchant for unscripted, impromptu public ways. Riding in a small sedan for his motorcade from the Antonio Carlos Jobim airport, the Pope’s car made a wrong turn and got caught in the busy Rio traffic, to the consternation of the security people, but something which the spontaneous Francis must have probably relished.

Widely accepted estimates put the crowd at Francis’ Mass at Copacabana beach at three million. That is two million less, of course, than the attendance in John Paul II’s Mass at the Luneta in 1995. (This visit elicited from him, at his departure, these words: “The Philippines is a phenomenon.”) Still, three million is certainly not a small number—are there other world leaders who can draw similarly huge numbers?

Another unexpected tour de force for Pope Francis’ young pontificate came later, not in Rio but in the skies over the Atlantic as the Pope’s Alitalia jet was en route back to Rome.

Traveling with him were 65 journalists who never had the chance to directly ask the Pope  questions since his election last March 13. Press accounts from the world’s media outlets say un-vetted questions came one after the other in that in-flight press conference.

Early on, the questions were “light.” The Pope, reportedly, was visibly tired at that point. The week-long series of events in Brazil had been grueling.

This one came from Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli: The photograph has gone around the world of you, when we left, going up the steps of the plane carrying a black bag. It never happened, we said, that the Pope went up with his baggage in hand. So, there were even theories about what the black bag contained. Now, my questions are: One, why did you carry the black bag and why was it not carried by a collaborator; and two, can you tell us what was inside?

Pope Francis: It didn’t have the key of the atomic bomb! I carried it because I’ve always done so. When I travel, I carry it. What is inside? There is my razor, there is the Breviary, there is the agenda, there is a book to read—I took one on St. Teresina to whom I am devoted. I have always carried the bag when I travel, it’s normal. But we must be normal.

I don’t know, what you are saying is a bit strange to me, that that photo has gone around the world. But we must get used to being normal, the normality of life. I don’t know, Andrea, if I’ve answered you…

That was certainly light, as if creating the air to keep out of the interview the more serious questions, which nevertheless came late in the exchange. One could imagine the mood among the journalists at that point. Francis was not theologizing and yet, in a sense, he was because he was plainly speaking the truth.

It was the fifth question from the Brazilian journalist Patricia Zorzan that drew out the “pièce de résistance” among the pronouncements the Pope made in his Brazilian sojourn.

Patricia Zorzan: In Brazil a law has been approved which extends the right of abortion and has allowed matrimony between persons of the same gender. Why didn’t you speak about this?

Pope Francis: The Church has already expressed herself perfectly on this. It wasn’t necessary to go back to this, nor did I speak about fraud or lies or other things, on which the Church has a clear doctrine.

Zorzan: But it’s an issue that interests young people.

Pope Francis: Yes, but it wasn’t necessary to talk about that, but about positive things that open the way to youngsters, isn’t that so? Moreover, young people know perfectly well what the position of the Church is.

Zorzan: What is the position of Your Holiness, can you tell us?

Pope Francis: That of the Church. I’m a child of the Church.

“A child of the Church.” How much of that do we realize when we pontificate—media people do so, too—on issues that affect Church and society? Much of what we read, for example, on questions concerning the Reproductive Health Law, seems to urge the Church to change its views of what it teaches. There are priests who even espouse the change. Some even do so with open scorn.

Now that the RH issue is back in the news with the Supreme Court hearings, how many of us who say we are of the Church can truly say that our position is “that of the Church”?