A Lutheran appreciation
given to him by a retired priest, or for longer trips, a modest Ford Focus. Pope Francis has called for “a poor church for the
poor.” He removed a German bishop, known as the “Bishop of Bling,” who had spent more than $40 million on his episcopal residence and office complex. And he has introduced major reforms at the Vatican Bank and in the Curia (the Vatican administration), with the promise of much more to come. Te pope has the unsettling
Indeed, the pope’s pronouncements oſten sound like
something a Lutheran might have said. In his first homily aſter being elected pope, he proclaimed: “Te only true glory is in the crucified Lord. We can build many things, but if we do not witness to Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter.” He remarked in a later interview: “Te church
habit of picking up the phone, without any secretarial interme- diaries, and calling people who have written him about their problems. He keeps in touch with old friends in Argentina, including Rabbi Abraham Skorka, with whom he wrote On Heaven and Earth, based on a popular TV series similar to America’s God Squad. Francis has also reached out to Muslims and adherents
of other faiths, as well as atheists, holding a long written and oral dialogue with a leading Italian nonbeliever. On Maundy Tursday during Holy Week aſter his
election, Pope Francis held the traditional foot washing in a very nontraditional way. Instead of washing the feet of 12 selected priests in a Vatican chapel, he went to a detention center for juvenile offenders in the city and washed the feet of 12 inmates. Te group included two females and two Muslims—again, a highly significant symbolic action. Lutherans haven’t always felt kindly toward popes,
and the Reformation began, of course, as a protest against the papal teachings and practices of that time. But some recent popes have elicited admiration, for example Pope John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council (1962-65)—the body that made so many Protestant-like changes, such as celebrating mass in the languages of today rather than in Latin. Pope Francis seems to be getting the same reaction.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton said of him in an interview shortly aſter her election, “He seems like a real straight shooter.”
In his very first homily after being elected pope, [Francis] proclaimed: ‘The only true glory is in the cru- cified Lord. We can build many things, but if we do not witness to Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter.’
sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small- minded rules. Te most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you.” Te church at its heart, he
said on another occasion, is not an institution but a “love story.” Serious differences remain
between Lutherans and Roman Catholics, but there may be more commonality than we are used to thinking of. In the very name that he chose for himself, Fran-
cis, the new pope invoked the memory of one of the most universally beloved figures in Christian history, Francis of Assisi, who gave up a life of privilege to minister to the poor. Tere are probably many Lutherans who have a statue of Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds in their backyards, a potent symbol of the unity of God’s creation. Just a short while ago, Pope Francis named 19 new
cardinals, largely from outside Europe. He told them not to regard this as a promotion, but rather an invi- tation to further service, one that “requires you to broaden your gaze and open your hearts.” Tis is in accord with what is probably, among the
many titles of the pope, the one that the current pope prefers: “Servant of the Servants of God.” Lutherans can agree that that’s a good definition of leadership in the church.
Author bio: Sherman, an ELCA pastor, served as professor of Christian ethics and dean of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and is founding director of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa.
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