Lutherans and the (new) Pope

So...Lutherans have historically had a tenuous-at-best relationship with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.  Say what you will about Martin Luther (and we Lutherans ought not pretend that he was blameless), Leo X was hardly a model of Christian virtue, grace, or pastoral care.  It was the headbutting between Luther and Leo that ultimately led to the split of the Church.

Luther believed that Pope Leo (and, when you get right down to it, the whole office of the papacy) was the Anti-christ, because he/it obscured the gospel of God's grace, and laid too many legalistic burdens at the feet of the faithful.

This might well have been true, particularly of Leo X and a few other spectacular papal failures - in fact, a dear and very Catholic friend of mine has argued that what Martin Luther needed was not a kick in the pants or threats of excommunication, but rather, "a good pope."  Hmm...

So here we are, nearly 500 years later, and much has changed among Catholics and Lutherans alike.  There has been a growing consensus, in the intervening 500 years, that we are more alike than might be initially thought - if for no other reason than the sacramental understanding we have of the way in which God works.  Of course, there are other similarities - the Real Presence we believe comes in those sacraments (at least 2 of them!),the common language of Scripture, the liturgical form of worship we share, and above all, a reliance on, and a focus on, Jesus Christ as the only hope for a hurting and broken world.

And so, 3 days ago, the College of Cardinals elected a new pope - the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio, who has taken the name Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.  By all accounts, Pope Francis is a humble, caring, pastoral man.  It is said than in Buenos Aires, he lived in a small apartment rather than the fancy bishop's residence, cooking his own meals, answering his own door, and taking the bus to work each day.  He apparently has visited hospitals full of AIDS victims and other seriously ill children.  He has criticized Marxism, but is also suspicious of capitalism.  From the first hours of his papacy, it became clear that he would eschew many of the traditional trappings of the office, from bejeweled clothing and accessories to servants and drivers to physical separation from and elevation above his fellow cardinals.  These signs and symbols of power Pope Francis seems not only uninterested in, but confused by. (Why wouldn't he go pay his own hotel bill the morning after his election?  Aren't we supposed to set a good example?)

Pope Francis is also deeply orthodox, which in modern parlance is code for "pro-life, pro-marriage, anti-women priests, and anti-contraception." (How come nobody ever complains that the pope is orthodox in his approach to use of the Trinitarian formula in baptism?)  His take on these issues is formed, one hopes, less by an attraction to rules for rules' sake, but by a coherent theological understanding of proper stewardship of God's gifts to humanity.  (Whether one agrees with that theology is another thing entirely, but it is hardly an arbitrary imposition of "hateful rules".)

So, back to the Lutherans.  What do we think?  Well, judging by vox populi, the initial judgement of "the average ELCA pastor" is "it's nice that he likes poor people, but he still hates women and gays, so I don't want anything to do with him".  Hmm...

Over in the Missouri Synod and "even more isolationist" corner the reigning viewpoint seems to be, "I'm certainly glad he's sexually orthodox, it's just too bad he's the anti-Christ.  Wolf in sheep's clothing, dontcha know?"

To all of which I say in response, um, really?  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your woman-hating pope:

Oh wait.  Let me try again.

"In our ecclesiastical region, there are priests who don't baptize the children of single mothers because they weren't conceived in the sanctity of marriage," Bergoglio told his priests.  "These are today's hypocrites.  Those who clericalize the Church.  Those who separate the people of God from salvation.  And this poor girl who, rather than returning the child to sender, had the courage to carry it into the world, must wander from parish to parish so that it's baptized!" 

Oops, "web error."  Let's try a different tack.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...the Anti-Christ!

"...we can walk as much we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a compassionate NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of Christ. When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not built on solid rocks, what happens? What happens is what happens to children on the beach when they make sandcastles: everything collapses, it is without consistency. When one does not profess Jesus Christ – I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy – “Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.” When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil."

Hmm...there seems to be some sort of a problem here.  ...the Anti-Christ!

This Gospel continues with a special situation. The same Peter who confessed Jesus Christ, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. This has nothing to do with it.” He says, “I’ll follow you on other ways, that do not include the Cross.” When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes, but not disciples of the Lord.

Ugh, my internet is screwed up today.  One last time.  Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Christian faithful of all ages, I am proud to escort to the stage, His Eminence, the Anti-Christ, Pope Francis I!

I would like that all of us, after these days of grace, might have the courage – the courage – to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of the Lord: to build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way, the Church will go forward.

Ok, look.  There are valid reasons, as Lutherans, to critique the Roman Church.  We could talk about a hierarchy that is so expansive that it frequently trips over itself, burdening the faithful and the seeking alike.  We could talk about specific dogma, doctrines, and disciplines that are not supported in Scripture but are nevertheless imposed on laity and clergy with a rigor that suggests they are.  We could talk about how the Sacrifice of the Mass sometimes appears to suggest that in communion, we give Jesus to God to appease God's wrath, rather than Jesus coming to us to show us God's mercy.  We could talk about poor management - both public and private - of the so-called "sexual abuse crisis", and how that has impacted the witness of all Christians.  We could discuss many, many issues, and we ought to.

But let us not get distracted by straw men arguments such as "the pope hates women" or "the pope is the anti-Christ."  At best, these are uncharitable mischaracterizations - at worst, they are outright lies.  And regardless, they are unbecoming of Christians. 

So you and the Pope don't agree on everything - shocker.  That's why he's Catholic and you're not.  It's why you're Lutheran, and he's not.  And just as I'd prefer if the pope or local Catholic bishop or priest didn't stick his nose into my affairs and my ministry and unfairly label and mischaracterize me; I'm sure Pope Francis would appreciate it if we didn't do it to him.

Lutherans, let us reclaim our heritage as people who are truly Catholic in nature.  Let us praise God that a man who appears to be deeply faithful and humble, a man who comes at this monstrous task from a position of humility and service to others, who loves the Lord and desires to follow in the way of the Cross has been called to such a position of responsibility and leadership.  Let us strive to always be charitable in our interpretations of him and his actions.  And then let us return to the tasks that have been set before each of us - a hungry world is watching, seeking, hoping, and there is no time to lose.