"We've Been Sequestered"

"We've Been Sequestered"

A new summary on Yahoo News characterizes Pope Francis as someone who is moderate in policy, yet conservative in theology, as per his Jesuit roots.

See: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-120005468.html Accessed March 21, 2013.

In the summary, author Nick Squires also says: 

"His modest lifestyle also raises the prospect of a radical culture clash with the pomp and circumstance of the Vatican, which is matched only by the British royal family for its love of costume, ceremony, and tradition.

"Pope Francis, on the other hand, 'takes his vows of poverty very seriously,' says the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Vatican expert at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington. 'It will be a challenge to live this sort of simple lifestyle in the Apostolic Palace,' he says. 'This may be very threatening to the papal court, especially those who like to dress up.' "

This lack of ostentation impresses me a lot. I hate dressing up with a passion. I regard it as a lot of bullfeathers. I know some people really enjoy it, but I don't think it should be taken seriously. It should only be for fun. Careers and status should not depend on people's ability to "dress for success." Neat, clean, and not obscene has always been my guideline. True, it didn't get me very far, but at least I'm comfortable and not unable to breathe in some tight suit and having my face all caked up with paints.

I could imagine Pope Francis questioning a lot of the pomp and ceremony, asking: "Is this necessary? What will this cost? Can't we give that to the poor instead?" That's going up upset the Prada crowd a lot.

All of us have had to do some cutting back. All around the world, people are being subjected to austerity budgets—the poor and middle class, that is. U.S. government workers are being furloughed because of the sequester. But, so far, the rich have not been affected at all.

It's nice to imagine that the rich Vatican MIGHT also have a bunch of religious running around telling each other: "We've been sequestered. The Pope gave us an austerity budget." And it's nice to imagine that the saved funds might flow downward instead of upward, the way they usually do. Will this happen? We have to wait and see what the Pope does. The example he set in his pre-Pope life suggests that something of this nature may occur. It may not be something big and obvious to all, but it may cause a lot of ripples at the Vatican.

I hope so. And I hope that the rest of the world might sit up and take notice.