Pastor’s Desk ~ April 27, 2025
/0 Comments/in Pastors Desk/by Fr. Bill DonahueDear Fellow Parishioners,
Usually, priests, deacons, parish musicians and staff take a day or two off after Easter, not only to “recover” from Holy Week, but take some time for personal prayer and reflection on the meaning of Holy Week and Easter. This year, on Easter Monday, we were informed of the death of Pope Francis.
The first papal election I remember was the election of Paul VI in 1963. The reason it is so clear after all these years is that my parents (like millions of Americans) subscribed to both LIFE and LOOK, the two leading photo-journalism magazines of the day. They took the place of coffee-table books, and were often collected long after the issue date. The old joke was that LOOK was “for those too dumb to “understand” the pictures in TIME.”
Vatican II had opened a year earlier, but the death of Pope John XXIII by stomach cancer was not widely expected (until the very end) except by Vaticanophiles. (He was known as a “forchetta forte”– a “strong fork”–i.e., a “good appetite” seen as a sign of health.) Satellite TV transmission was black and white, and of limited quality (Italy didn’t get color television until the mid-’70’s). Those magazines had the only lush color photos widely available, and I could remember the deep red cardinals’ choir dress, and the splendor of the Vatican. It was the first real peek Catholics world-wide had into their own church through the death of one Pope and the election of his successor.
The burial of Francis will take place the traditional nine days after his death. The growing list of world leaders and dignitaries planning to attend is impressive indeed, including Prince William and Princess Catherine, the King and Queen of Spain, and heads of state from all over the world. Countries with functional royal families are represented by them. Countries without monarchies or royal families, like the United States, are represented by ranking civil official(s). A papal funeral is one of the few times all of these national representatives from all over the world appear on the same stage, and the attendees are almost always “first string” – i.e., presidents rather than vice presidents, kings rather than princes.
There are a few things we might do well to keep in mind as we follow the news coverage. First of all, practicing Catholics see the church more from the inside, whereas secular journalists will tend to see the church from the outside, based on what is concrete and visible. The media are generally very good at reporting what’s visible and audible. What they’re far less good at is in conveying the invisible spiritual essence of the task at hand. Almost invariably, the networks report church events as if through a political template. The papabile – i.e., “pope-able,” those thought to be viable candidates – are measured on a spectrum between “progressive” and “conservative,” as if one word could adequately sum up a lifetime of work and experience. This focus on the visible tends to secularize the whole event from the start. Our part in this event is to pray and view this funeral and coming election with a supernatural outlook.
Another pitfall is misconstruing the nature of the papacy. People who think a “good” pope is one who will agree with them 100% of the time will be disappointed no matter who is elected. (When the flamboyant Ed Koch was running for mayor of New York, he was fond of saying, “If you agree with me 8 times out of 12, vote for me. If you agree with me 12 times out of 12, see a psychiatrist.”) The ancient name “pontifex” means “bridge-builder,” and the pope is to be above all a symbol of the unity of the entire church, three-quarters of whom now live in Asia, Africa or South Latin America.
There will be a Mass for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis this coming Monday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m. at St. Eugene’s Cathedral in Santa Rosa.
Blessings, Fr. Bill Donahue
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