His progression in Argentina to Bishop, then Archbishop and Cardinal in 2001, was shaped by the disciplined scholarship and spirituality of the Jesuits, where the inward promptings of the Holy Spirit are lived out in the rigour of a simple and austere way of life, especially among the poor.

In the two preceding parts of this article published in the March and April 2015 issues of Methodist Message, I touched on the ‘firsts’

marked by the election of Pope Francis, his intentional focus on international ministry and his bold confessional of “illnesses and temptations that weaken our service to the Lord”. In this final part, I will focus on his expressed priorities, in comparison with those of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.

The first Jesuit Pope
There have been 266 popes in apostolic succession from St. Peter, most of whom have progressed to the papal office through the hierarchy of the church as priest, bishop, archbishop, and cardinal. Of these, only 34 have also belonged to one of the religious orders which are among the great riches of Roman Catholicism – Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines, to name but a few. But Pope Francis is the first Jesuit to become Pope.

The Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius of Loyola and licensed by Pope Paul III in 1540, holds a special place in the missional life of the Roman Catholic Church. Ignatius, a Spanish noble who had embarked on a military career, experienced a profound conversion during convalescence after an injury in battle, and crafted a set of spiritual exercises that remains the bedrock of the Order. The Society requires vows of its members to poverty, chastity, and obedience, and is organised throughout the world in provinces.

At the conclusion of his novitiate in the Society, Francis officially became a Jesuit on 12 March 1960 when he made profession of the initial, perpetual vows, and then went through the required years of intensive training and discipline. His closing period of preparation included a time in Spain in 1970, where he was able to experience something of the historical origins of the Order, returning to Argentina to take his final vow in 1971.

His progression in Argentina to Bishop, then Archbishop and Cardinal in 2001, was shaped by the disciplined scholarship and spirituality of the Jesuits, where the inward promptings of the Holy Spirit are lived out in the rigour of a simple and austere way of life, especially among the poor.

Much of this was while Argentina was experiencing the repression and violence of military dictatorships, when thousands of people became the desaparecidos, the “disappeared”, and when many of his brother Jesuits felt that their bishop could and should have made a clearer witness against the injustices of the government.

There are also those who give accounts of how he quietly and unobtrusively helped many he could otherwise not have helped had he taken a more public stand. Since becoming Pope there has been reconciliation with those in his Order from whom he had become estranged.

Papal statesmanship
The political instincts he developed during those years in Argentina are already proving advantageous for the role of church statesman that is now part of his papal portfolio. A good example of this is the part he played behind the scenes in helping to restore diplomatic relations between Cuba and the USA in 2014.

Following the landmark visit of the Pope to Cuba in 1998, Bishop Bergoglio, as he then was, had published “Dialogues between John Paul II and Fidel Castro” at the request of the Vatican. Even though he had attended this visit as the future Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he self-effacingly described himself merely as the “Coordinator” of the book, which rejected both Marxism and neoliberalism as “alien to the soul of the Cuban pueblo – and by extension that of Latin America as a whole”.⁴

He harshly criticised socialism and Castro’s atheist revolution for denying individuals their “transcendent dignity” and putting them solely at the service of the state. At the same time, he denounced the US embargo and economic isolation of Cuba that impoverished the island.

His continuing collegiality with the Cuban Bishops gave him important insights into the social and religious context of the negotiations, and on 17 Dec 2014, US President Barak Obama, in a national address announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations with the island, paid Francis this eloquent tribute: “In particular I want to thank His Holiness Pope Francis whose moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be rather than simply settling for the world as it is.”

The people’s Pope
In reaching out to the world, Francis does not seek global unity as an ideology or even a faith, but as a mission to serve all people where there is need, and to love all people as God’s children.

In the ecumenical dialogue that will surely emerge during his papacy there are of course major issues that Protestants must bring to the table, not least of which is the role and status of women in ordained ministry.

Yet the compass headings already set by this Pope point to an openness that should encourage Christians of every denomination. In the mission to serve all people, unity will come by default, since recognising one another as God’s family leaves no room for the false gods of power and greed and selfishness.

This is made poignantly clear in the Introduction to Austen Ivereigh’s biography.⁵ The author and a colleague had been given front-row tickets for a Wednesday audience with Pope Francis in June 2013, but he took over two hours to reach them “because, after his address – the usual mix of homespun humour and startling metaphors – he disappeared for what seemed an eternity among the ones he calls God’s holy, faithful people. They, the anawim, the poor of God, not we, the front-row ticket-holders, were his priority.” Truly this man is the people’s Pope.

In reaching out to the world, Francis does not seek global unity as an ideology or even a faith, but as a mission to serve all people where there is need, and to love all people as God’s children.

A Wesleyan postscript
In writing this article I was reminded time and again of the founder of Methodism, and the striking similarity between the priorities of John Wesley and Pope Francis. Let two excerpts from Wesley’s Journal be the last word:

Monday, 24 Nov 1760. I visited as many as I could of the sick. How much better is it, when it can be done, to carry relief to the poor than to send it! And that both for our own sake and theirs. For theirs, as it is so much more comfortable to them, and as we may then assist them in spirituals as well as temporals. And for our own, as it is far more apt to soften our heart and to make us naturally care for each other.

Monday, 24 Nov 1760. I visited as many as I could of the sick. How much better is it, when it can be done, to carry relief to the poor than to send it! And that both for our own sake and theirs. For theirs, as it is so much more comfortable to them, and as we may then assist them in spirituals as well as temporals. And for our own, as it is far more apt to soften our heart and to make us naturally care for each other.

In the mission to serve all people, unity will come by default, since recognising one another as God’s family leaves no room for the false gods of power and greed and selfishness.

⁴ Ivereigh, The Great Reformer, p.237.
⁵ The Great Reformer, p.xi.

The Rev Dr David Lowes Watson is an eminent Wesleyan scholar, author and Methodist minister of the Tennessee Conference, The United Methodist Church. He was keynote speaker at the Aldersgate SG 2014 Convention last May. This is the third of a three-part article by Dr Watson on the ministry of Pope Francis who has made international headlines with his decisions and actions since his election to the papacy in March 2013.