Pope Francis, the final phase?

Pope Francis works by catchphrases. His preferred method is to drop them into an interview or a question-and-answer dialogue.

His method has its fans and supporters. Introducing the book that collects the Pope’s dialogues with Jesuits from around the world, Antonio Spadaro SJ praised the Pope’s refusal to give prepared speeches but to open immediately by asking questions from the interlocutor.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ—a C9 member, a confrere in religion, and the pope’s man in Europe for several years—has said that having a Pope with so much trust is nice.

There may be another perspective to consider.

Asking questions is a lazy way of placing oneself before the other. Pope Francis must study and prepare topics and seek deep communication with the people before him. He reacts to questions; often, the reactions repeat concepts already known, anecdotes already told, and topics already applied in other circumstances.

Three times in the last two weeks, Pope Francis has reiterated the four principles of Evangelii Gaudium:
• Time is greater than space.
• Realities are greater than ideas.
• Unity prevails over conflict.
• The whole is greater than the part.

The first time was when he signed the book of honor in the Grand Ducal Palace of Luxembourg before the meeting with the authorities. The second time was when he signed the book of honor before the meeting at KU Leuven, the Flemish part of the University of Louvain in Belgium. The third was in a motu proprio—yet another surprise—again changing the organization of the Diocese of Rome by eliminating the auxiliary bishop for the central sector, i.e., the old city or centro storico.

These three moments are somehow different and connected, giving a precise impression. That is, Pope Francis wants, in some way, to reinforce the fundamental principles of his pontificate, giving substance to those latest reforms that should definitively provide the Church with the face that he believes appropriate and appropriate.

Why are the three moments connected?

The meeting with the Luxembourg authorities was a moment in which the Pope wanted to send a message to Europe, and he did so in a subsequent speech to the authorities in which he asked Europe not to fall back on the errors of the past, especially in terms of conflict.

The signature in the book of honor of the University of Louvain was instead connected to a particular intellectual moment in a hostile environment. The change in the structure of the Diocese of Rome ends the revolution at the Vicariate of Rome.

Pope Francis has already downsized the office of Cardinal Vicar, which is currently vacant and which is, in any case, equal to any auxiliary. Now, after having reached the point of having as many as eight auxiliary bishops in Rome, he eliminates the auxiliary bishop for the crucial sector of the historic center. And he does so on the eve of the Jubilee, that is, the moment in which the landmark center sector will be the one that will most need care and the closeness of its bishop.

State, culture, diocese: Pope Francis’ message is thus addressed to all levels of society, with an insistence that has never occurred in such a blatant manner. It happens during a Synod of Bishops that promised revolutions, but it could, in reality, be a mere discussion that will not bring substantial changes.

Only the Pope will be able to decide, and the Pope himself has said we should not look for “trendy” solutions. He also has said the synod is, in any case, the bishops’, complaining that anyone who says otherwise has been in some way a victim of “chatter.”

Like everything in this pontificate, the synod was somewhat oversold.

Ten study groups are discussing the most controversial issues, and their interim reports testify not only that the bishops are tied to traditional practice but also that, on some things, they would prefer to go back. For example, the bishops emphasized the importance of diocesan tribunals and the possibility of delegating decisions in matrimonial nullity. This effectively countered the Pope’s request that the bishop take responsibility for judging cases, not only in the abbreviated form.

Reiterating the tfour cardinal principles of the pontificate is not just a way of getting back in line.
According to the old communication principles, repeating a catchphrase creates a mentality. Maybe here we see another reason Pope Francis prefers the apparently spontaneous but really very highly managed Q&A sessions: They allow the Pope to justify not always going into the details of issues, hiding when he does not want to speak, and avoiding answers.

In the end, the Pope never really shows his cards.

He says what he thinks, but he doesn’t tell his strategy. He shows confidence, but in the end, it is clear that all decisions always and only pass through him. There is nothing wrong with that; that is clear, but it may be helpful to break the narrative by showing a Pope who decides in dialogue instead. The Pope is the Pope, as is fitting.

When faced with prepared speeches, Pope Francis tends to go off script to enter territories more agreeable to him or respond to public opinion. Since the trip to Asia, he has done so several times with speeches to the authorities, and it is an unusual choice: they are speeches with diplomatic weight, chiseled in every comma, and subject to an official translation. Changing those speeches is, in short, extremely risky.

Pope Francis, thus, demonstrates a taste for improvisation that can be positive but can also lead to problems. The trip to Belgium, for example, ended with a protest from the UC Louvain University (the French branch) and the Pope’s piqued response in a press conference on the plane. But the Pope also used very harsh words against abortion and wanted to take King Baudouin of Belgium, who suspended himself so as not to sign the law on abortion, as an example. That was enough for the Belgian Prime Minister De Croo to summon the nuncio, Archbishop Coppola, for explanations.

Of course, it was predictable in Belgium, where the government and public opinion generally cannot be considered of proven Catholic faith. Therefore, it would have been better to prepare the statements and responses to the predictable reactions carefully. It did not happen.

However, the Pope relaunched the four fundamental principles of his programmatic document, the Evangelii Gaudium, demonstrating a specific (and even admirable) stubbornness in moving forward with what he believes in without worrying about the outside world.

Now, those four principles justify an epochal change within the diocese of Rome. One wonders whether the Pope is reiterating those principles to outline the final phase of his pontificate. Pope Francis vindicates his work, responds to the crisis with a call to unity, and asks everyone to conform to his principles. Simply put, Pope Francis believes this is the path to take.

However, there is no debate.

The Pope delivers the principles and then interviews those who are interested in him in the way he wants and when he wants. The final phase of his pontificate is characterized, then, by greater awareness and social visibility.

Whether this is a good or a bad thing, time will tell.