For one who is not a massive fan of religion or religious practices, the recent passing of the late Pope Francis of Assisi, brings to an end the era of one of the more modern guardians of the Holy See. Pope Francis was the epitome of a number of values that I think New Zealanders would like to think their identity as such holds dear.
Across his 12 year reign the Pope showed on several occasions that whilst being a man of the Catholic Church he was also endowed with a human touch not always obvious in Catholicism. He had a humility that sometimes holders of high office – Prime Ministers or Popes, Kings or Generals – have an unfortunate habit of looking down upon in a kind of sneering, demeaning way. And it has shown strongly in the media coverage since 2012.
There are several notable examples, notably him washing the feet of convicted prisoners, Sisters of the order – something that is normally reserved for other Popes.
In 2016, to celebrate his birthday Pope Francis shared breakfast with eight homeless people in the Vatican. 18 months later during the celebration of a new Cardinal, he joined 1,200 homeless people in eating dinner.
It is not that I expect a leader to kiss the feet of an inmate or other person, except partner in appropriate circumstances, but his deliberate straying from traditional protocol sent a signal that some reforms in the Church are quite fine. New Zealanders pride themselves on having humility. I would not expect everyone to sit with homeless and eat dinner with them, but as a nation that values such, I imagine us to understand where such a show of compassion comes from.
It is notable though that the Vatican does indeed have some strange – if not slightly disturbing – bedfellows when it comes to following international treatises. It is notable that it joins Iran, the United States and a very small number of other states in not having ratified the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (C.E.D.A.W.). In a world where most of the western hemisphere nations have now had at least one female head of Government, the Vatican, like the United States, has not.
Nor does the Vatican have appeared to develop any laws or other legal instruments that might recognize the rights of the L.G.B.T. community. In a part of the world where many of the most liberal nations exist, the Vatican is something of an outlier in its stance on L.G.B.T. issues.
Unfortunately the Vatican under Pope Francis was like the Vatican under all prior Popes when it comes to the subject of abortion. His wording was as unambiguous as I have ever heard from a sitting Pope: “abortion is murder”. It is not a subject I am expecting any positive movement from the Vatican any time soon, no matter how much international progress is made and however strong the hand of reformists becomes.
Pope Francis might not have been in office for long enough to seriously shake up what is most definitely one of the most conservative institutions known to exist. Nor is it necessarily likely that even if he had pushed harder that those around him with the power to check his moves, would have graciously conceded. On the contrary, we now run the risk that the voting process now underway kicks up a staunch conservative who doubles down on some of the more controversial messages of Pope Francis’ predecessors. At a time when reform has never been more needed, Pope Francis was a welcome occupier of the Papal offices. One can only hope his successor respects what was achieved.
Leftist Kiwi Writes 