In an article that appears in the March 1, 2014 issue of The Mennonite, Robert Brenneman admits to being “smitten” by Pope Francis. Despite seeing significant differences between Mennonites and Catholics in the areas of church structure and liturgy, Brenneman observes four areas in which Pope Francis’ message and example find resonance with Anabaptist values. He writes:
Although it will take time to do so, Pope Francis has pledged to move power outward, giving regional bishops more freedom to name the most appropriate candidates for offices in their own districts. This policy promises to allow them to build local institutions that are more responsive to the local context.
Just as significant, from an Anabaptist perspective, is his demonstration of a commitment to a modest lifestyle that displays servant leadership. Refusing to live in the 10-room papal apartments of the Vatican Palace, Pope Francis resides instead in a sparsely decorated two-room apartment originally built for visitors. True to his chosen name, Francis also exhibits a visible preference for simplicity over pageantry. He refuses to wear the brightly colored mozzetta shoulder cape that signifies spiritual authority. And his ring, typically the object of great attention and global awe, is a simple silver ring….
But it is the pontiff’s scathing critique of global economic inequality that most caught the attention of this Mennonite Christian. In Evangelii Gaudium, his first formal papal statement of length, Pope Francis chastised global leaders for allowing the continuing growth of a staggering wealth gap between the rich and the poor. He warned against trusting in “trickle-down theories” of economics as capable of lifting the burden of poverty from millions who continue to suffer….
Finally, in addition to his vision for a more horizontal exercise of authority, his penchant for simplicity and his emphatic denouncing of economic inequality, Pope Francis has made peace an urgent theme in his formal declarations. On New Year’s Day he delivered a message from his window in which he reminded the faithful that they have, “a responsibility … to work so that the world becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other in one’s diversity and take care of one another.’ At one point, he even set aside his notes, going off script to say, “What is happening in the heart of humanity? It is time to stop.” He closed with a prayer asking that “the courage of dialogue and reconciliation prevail over the temptation for vendetta, arrogance and corruption.”
Francis is not the first pope to denounce injustice or promote world peace. Yet something about the way he delivers his message—his humble routine, his austere dress and his pastoral manner—allows him to capture the attention and respect of many who have disregarded the Vatican and even written off Christianity itself.
Brenneman concludes by commenting, “Although we do not truly have a Mennonite pope, if we ever did, we could only hope that he might be as humble, wise and grace-filled as Francis.”
The full article is available here.