Foot washing © dpa
Pope Francis kisses a baby © Ettore Ferrari
"Mercy" – in German the word had already been almost discarded. But Francis is also making a comeback in this country. With gestures and words, he makes it the key concept of his pontificate.
"For me, mercy forms the strongest message of Christ." In one sentence, Francis summed up his program four days after his election at his first public Mass as pope. Countless times since then, he has formulated the demand for more "misericordia" and shown in impressive gestures what he means by it. Without the virtue of mercy, it is impossible to understand the intentions of the Pope from Argentina, who so often quotes Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. On Tuesday, he even inaugurated an extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy in Rome.
Help for the poor, the hungry, the lonely and the sick
The term sounds unwieldy and old-fashioned in German – unlike other languages. But for Francis, the world today needs nothing more urgently than what is meant by this: empathy and active help for the poor, the hungry, the lonely, the sick. Spectacular his visit to the refugee island of Lampedusa, his first ever trip – where he defined the opposite of mercy, the "globalization of indifference".
He had showers set up in St. Peter's Square for the homeless; he was the first pope to wash the feet of prisoners on Holy Thursday; long rows of wheelchairs always line his general audiences in St. Peter's Square. If the daily schedule allows it, he goes to them afterwards and takes time for each individual. He loves to be a shepherd, he once said. The comforting encounter with the poor, the sick or prisoners fills him up.
The Catechism already calls Catholics to "works of mercy": "corporal" ones, such as active help for the sick and needy and almsgiving for the poor; as well as "spiritual" ones, such as forgiveness and giving comfort. Also former popes like John XXIII. (1958-1963) and John Paul II. (1978-2005) put compassionate humanity in the foreground. But no other head of the church has made it his trademark and knows how to make it as visible in the media as Francis.
Francis without fear of contact
He doesn't seem to be afraid of contact, even pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the saliva from the mouth of a spastic paralytic. And when he once lingered for minutes at a general audience with a man covered all over with ulcers, embracing him, kissing his disfigured face, the picture appeared on the major news portals of the world. No, the motto of his pontificate is "not a strategy," Francis said this week in an interview. And probably meant the accusations that he produces himself as the supreme Samaritan of his church. "The Holy Spirit wants something from us."
What is new about this pope is that he addresses his appeal primarily to his own address: He wants a merciful church that does not raise a moral finger, but first helps suffering people in difficult life situations. He speaks of the church as a "field hospital". He wants to leave the judging to God; after all, everyone is a sinner, himself included, Francis frequently repeats. "The Church sometimes falls into the temptation to follow a hard line; into the temptation to emphasize only the moral norms, but to exclude many people," he said in the interview.
Resistance in the universal church
Especially in Germany, such sentences aroused expectations for a more tolerant treatment of remarried divorcees and homosexuals by the church. "Who am I to judge them?"Francis confessed, and many saw it as a turning point. During his visit to the USA in September, he embraced a gay couple. So far, he has not been more specific – and the resistance in the universal church against a change of course remains strong.
On the question of remarried persons, the pope let it be known several times that he wants a "merciful" solution that could also allow remarried persons to participate validly in the Eucharist again in individual cases. The Synod on the Family in October left some room for the papal magisterium to do this.
Francis sees himself above all as a merciful pastor, not as a teacher of the Church.