The
next few days will see blanket coverage in the news media of the visit of
Francis to the
United States
, a country he has not visited.
With a carefully choreographed journey, he will meet
many people, ordinary people and dignitaries, the poor and the disadvantaged, no
doubt providing headaches for the Security agencies.
His visit to
North America
begins in
Cuba
, a country whose recent emergence from the years of the Cold
War is credited by many to his direct intervention between the diplomacy of
Cuba
and the
US
. In December 2014, Time magazine noted that-
“In
a 15-minute speech announcing that the
U.S.
would normalize relations with
Cuba
, Obama said that the pope helped spur
the change and personally thanked him. The
Vatican
then released a statement noting that
the
Vatican
hosted delegations from both countries
in October to negotiate the deal after Pope Francis had written to both
leaders”.
Now
he goes in person to visit both countries.
His continual message since he became the Bishop of
Rome has been one of mercy and compassion. The woman at the Well with the Lord
and their discussion of the need to drink is a significant passage in the Gospel
in so many ways. That the conversation took place at all, was amazing. That it
centred on a story of water- “Give me to drink”
– is still a fresh reality in the way that this pope deals with people. His
relationship with the poor and the disadvantaged, those, who through race or
colour, are subject to societal rejection, has been an example to us all.
The societal contrasts in the
US
are still considerable, the cities still places where
tension can flare if something is mishandled, where poverty and inequality are
there for all to see.
How will Francis approach
the
US
hierarchy on such issues? How will they respond to his
direct and forthright way of speaking? And
after it is all over, after he has spoken to both Houses of Congress and
addressed the United Nations, what will be the legacy of his days in the
United States
?
In the words of Argentinian theologian Carlos Galli:
“To understand Francis, you don’t need
labels. You need to understand where he comes from.”
Just as the Church, since his arrival in the See of
Peter, has experienced a new way of being Church, so will the people of the
US
be changed by his being amongst them. In his first year he
managed the front cover of both Time magazine
and Rolling Stone. We move on from
there.
In the coming Year of Mercy, may the mercy he has shown us by
his example become embedded in our actions and attitudes.
You can follow the papal visit at
papalvisit.americamedia.org
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