Many complaints about Pope Francis: he would not have the good look of John XXIII, indeed his glances frosty; he would not have the subtle reasoning and prudence of Paul VI, indeed his “exits” put in crisis the rooms of Vatican diplomacy; would not have the energy and affability of John Paul II, indeed it appears at a slow and solitary pace; it would not have the systematic and sure doctrine of Benedict XVI, indeed it presents itself too creative and exploratory of new ways, with the eye on the present preferring to the peaceful sphere the disorienting polyhedron. They don’t forgive him for being a Jesuit.
Yet Pope Francis can be considered the fulfillment of a prophecy of Saint John Paul II.
The Society of Jesus has experienced many crises, and has also been suppressed. It risked being eliminated again in the 80s, to no longer be considered able to defend the authentic doctrine and the magisterium of the Church, due to the Marxist drift of many Jesuits, especially in Latin America, linked to the theology of liberation. The story is known. The resignation of Fr. Pedro Arrupe was not accepted, but he was relieved of his office for health reasons, and instead of proceeding to the election of a new General Superior, the pope appointed his «personal delegate», Fr. Paolo Dezza, and a coadjutor, Fr. Giuseppe Pittau. In fact the order was sent in special administration.
For many Jesuits it was a blow. But as Pope Wojtyla said, «public opinion, which perhaps expected the Jesuits to make a gesture dictated only by human logic, received, with admiration, an answer, dictated instead by the spirit of the Gospel» although there were many fathers who could not easily see the «finger of God» in that affair. The Ignatian spirit won also thanks to the example of «venerable» Fr. Arrupe who in his suffering kept faith with the fourth vow of obedience to the Pope.
John Paul II’s speech to the Jesuit provincials gathered in Rome on 27 February 1982 was prophetic. He recalled the pillars of the apostolate of the Society of Jesus in the more than four centuries of its history: the renewal of Christian life in the People of God, especially through popular missions, «spiritual exercises» and spiritual direction; the spread of Catholic doctrine through catechism, chairs of theology, colleges and seminaries with the introduction of «Ratio Studiorum»; the proclamation of the Gospel in mission land with the human promotion of peoples.
The memory of the past as a compass to move towards the future: «The Church expects the Society today to make an effective contribution to the implementation of the Second Vatican Council, as, at the time of St Ignatius and immediately thereafter, it made every effort to make the Council of Trent known and applied, and to help in an essential way the Roman Pontiffs in the exercise of their supreme magisterium». The Polish pope then went on to formulate the four requirements for the renewal of the Society: the long and solid formation of the Jesuits; the firmness and depth of doctrine; fidelity to the magisterium of the Church, especially to the Pope; the exemplariness of religious life and austerity in the standard of living.
The pope entrusted to the Jesuits some initiatives that the Second Vatican Council particularly encouraged: ecumenism to reduce the scandal of division among Christians; the deepening of relations with non-Christian religions; studies and initiatives concerning the worrying phenomenon of atheism. But the most important point for Saint John Paul II was the clarification of how to promote justice in the Church’s evangelizing action «because the Church considers the promotion of justice as an integral part of evangelization», emphasizing that the service of religious is essentially spiritual, to give great value to the apostolate of the laity.
With this clarifying speech, Pope John Paul II not only did not suppress, as others asked, the Society, but he relaunched it, making it come out from that trial purified in pain, spiritually and missionary renewed.
Thus he prepared the profile of the man who today guides the Church, the boat of Peter, to cross the troubled waters of the «epochal change».
Through his eyes he teaches us to look tenderly at the poor and the excluded and at all creation; his diplomacy of «love», as in Abu Dhabi and Ur, has opened wide doors that seemed barred forever; showed us that rest time should not be an empty time, and in pursuing reforms, despite failures and obstacles, sought the collaboration of many others; faced the isolation of the «pandemic» entering daily homes and praying together with the people of God; he wrote the Apostolic Constitution «Veritatis gaudium» on ecclesiastical universities and faculties for «to set in motion a wise and courageous renewal for the missionary transformation proper to a “Church going forth”».
John Paul II recalled that, in the light of the Second Vatican Council, the fourth vow of obedience to the Pope also binds the Jesuits to the College of Bishops, in coherence with the collegial turning point of the Church. The synodal process initiated by Pope Francis starts from this consideration and goes even further, involving all the people of God in the process of discernment to realize God’s dream of a new humanity.
* Fr. Paolo Scarafoni and Filomena Rizzo teach theology together in Italy and Africa, in Addis Ababa. They are authors of books and articles of theology.
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