Francis makes history, raises hope on US tour

Over the past six days, the charismatic spiritual leader of the 1-billion-member- strong Roman Catholic Church commanded the undivided attention of much of this adoring nation. Pope Francis’ triumphant, unifying and awe-inspiring visits to two dozen sites in three major American cities generated boundless amounts of hope and history.

Francis made history in Washington, D.C., last Thursday as the first pope to ever address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. For one fleeting hour, our partisan and quarrelsome senators and representatives sat staunchly united, transfixed in the compelling messages of the pontiff. Francis focused his remarks on one of the most divisive issues those lawmakers face today – immigration.

The pope eloquently reminded legislators, “We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us once were foreigners.”

Francis made history in New York on Friday in his historic address to the United Nations General Assembly in which he made a passionate plea for action to save the environment and to eradicate global poverty. Those themes illustrate his penchants for thrusting himself – and his church – into the forefront of public-policy debates and for setting his goals sky high.

“A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and the disadvantaged,” he boldly told leaders of the world body. Shortly thereafter, the assembly adopted a daunting agenda for action to address those papal concerns concretely over the next 15 years.

Francis also made history in Philadelphia on Saturday when he stood at Independence Hall where the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed as he spoke behind a lectern used by President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address.

There, the leader of the world’s oldest Western institution extolled the world’s oldest enduring democracy’s ideals of liberty and equality: “Those ringing words continue to inspire us today,” the pope said, referring to the Declaration of Independence.

NEW ERA FOR CATHOLIC CHURCH?

But beyond making history, throughout his tour, the Argentine-born pontiff generated hope – hope for a genesis of renewal and growth for the Catholic Church in America and its 75 million U.S. adherents, including approximately 200,000 within the Diocese of Youngstown.

To be sure, the 266th leader of the church assumed the papacy in March 2013 at a time of turmoil and tumult of historic proportions for Roman Catholicism in America and throughout the world. Membership rolls have been tumbling, churches have been closing, interest in church leadership roles has evaporated, and the financial health of the church has been limping into the red. In addition, a damaging priest sex-abuse scandal has effectively eroded some of the very foundations of the 2,000-year-old religious institution.

But in many of his messages during his weeklong visit, Francis has demonstrated a sincere commitment toward ridding the church of its most foul ills. On Sunday, for example, Francis met in Philadelphia with a group of victims of child sexual abuse and told them he is “deeply sorry” for the times they came forward to tell their story and weren’t believed. He assured them that he believes them and that bishops will be called to account for shielding child-molesting priests.

“I pledge to you that we will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead,” Francis said in Spanish. “Clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children.”

The eyes of the world must stay focused on the church hierarchy to ensure that Francis’ pledge carries weight.

Among his other real-world initiatives has been a softening of the Vatican’s former hard-line views of homosexuality, divorce and abortion. In those and other arenas, he has built bridges by applying age-old Christian doctrine to some of today’s most controversial realities.

Clearly he is succeeding in making Catholicism more relevant to a new generation of followers while preserving bedrock traditions revered by even the most elder of his flock.

As such, the pope’s visit to the U.S. may end up as a mere footnote in history. But if Francis continues along the same compassionate path, the more historic aspect of his papacy may well prove to be the fundamental transformation and renaissance of the Roman Catholic Church.