Bergoglio’s “revolution” ” “seen through the lenses of the EU

Is the Catholic Church undergoing a “revolution”? Before the hastening of the secularization process, which answers are looming in the Vatican? Which, in this context, is the role of Pope Francis? These are not minor questions, which commentators from different backgrounds – scholars, theologians, journalists… – have already ventured to address. This time it’s the turn of the “Policy Department” of the Directorate-General for External Policies of the EU Parliament that in view of the Holy Father’s visit to the European institutions in Strasbourg on 25 November, has produced a document titled “Is a ‘revolution’ ongoing in the Catholic Church? The first year of the pontificate of Pope Francis”. The lengthy document (18 pages) is available in four languages (Italian, English, German, French) on the intranet site of the institution, dated November 3, 2014, for “internal use only”. It has thus been conceived for MEPs and officers of the Assembly, to prepare to welcome Bergoglio next week in the Alsatian town. “Elected in March 2013, Pope Francis represents a ‘revolutionary’ choice for the Catholic Church”, states the pamphlet. “Faced with the progressive secularization of society, shaken by scandals and apparently unable to respond to the challenges of the modern world, the Church has decided to rely on a man who comes “from the other side of the world”. The first months of the pontificate of Pope Bergoglio “have been fruitful”, the author states. “Under the guidance of the new Pope, the Church has embarked on a major internal reorganization and began to open up to the typical moral issues of our times”. The Church “has returned to the ancient with a renewed attention to the poor and marginalized, promoting a more active and determined evangelization process”. “From an international perspective, the new Pope is considerably detached from the euro-centric tradition of his predecessors”, – the document goes on – “and has chosen to follow a ‘multilateral approach’ in international affairs”. Follows a first judgment under the guise of neutrality: “It is not clear if the intransigent hierarchy of the Church will allow the reforms promoted by the Pope”. An accurate reading of the document shows a good capacity for synthesis of “Vatican” events – rather than specifically ecclesial – of recent times. A short section dedicated to the biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is followed by a chapter on the “reform of Church governance” (curia, the IOR, the Vatican Penal Code, the economy of the Holy See). A chapter focuses on the “fight against inappropriate sexual behavior and pedophilia in the clergy”, another on a possible or alleged “new social doctrine of the Church”. Then a chapter tackles “the difficult ethical decisions of the new Pontiff” (limited, in the text, to homosexuality and access to the sacraments by remarried divorcees”, with several references to the Synod on the Family). Follows “the Pope’s position in international affairs” with a focus on inter-religious dialogue and one on relations with the European Union. This is obviously an “introductory” paper whose bibliography is mostly limited to newspaper articles, but there are also quotations from Francis’ speeches and an implicit appreciation of certain aspects of the figure of the Pope, notably his courageous stands for the poor, the marginalized, and for the “existential peripheries”, as well as for his condemnation of the “globalization of indifference”. Every now and then are to be found daring comparisons with Bergoglio’s predecessors, considered responsible, inter alia, for not having given sufficient relevance to “the choice of a sober and poor life for the Church”, or “to a better understanding of man’s role in the world” (sic et simpliciter). On the other hand, in the analysis of the document, there emerges the implication of “an ambitious project for a new evangelization of which the pope himself is both a promoter and a witness. The immense global popularity gained by Francis becomes “the instrument for the internal reconstruction of an aged and sick Church as well as the means to enter the hearts and minds of millions of people who for various reasons have grown distant from the faith”. As for the relations with the European Union, for the European office responsible for external policies there are five issues on which the EU and the Vatican “do not share the same vision”. These are: the Judeo-Christian roots of Europe; the understanding of the free market; gender ideology; the “interference” of international institutions in matters of morality and doctrine of the Church; the knot of migration and the reception of refugees. From the Pope – a “truly global figure, appreciated both by Catholics and non-Catholics alike” – is expected perhaps, in his stop in Strasbourg, some emphasis on themes of peace, solidarity and an appeal to hope. It is equally evident that this reading, at times “benevolent”, of papal events, neglects essential aspects of the life of the Christian community, which cannot be limited to a Vatican-centric vision, overlooking the profile of the Church as “the people of God” according to the directives of the Council; a community that thrives on key references to the Bible, prayer and the multiple forms of charity and education; a Church committed, not without toil, in the process of ecumenism and inter-religious understanding; a catholicity which consists, precisely because of its universality, of many “diversities” (geographic, pastoral, cultural, liturgical …) that tend towards “unity”. In other words, that very “unity in diversity” that represents the motto and the positive trait of the EU itself.