27 April 2025
Evangelos Venizelos *
The Pope as a Man of Flesh: From Hope to Resurrection
A few months ago, Pope Francis’ autobiography was published. The most important theological message he intended to convey does not emerge from the theological-essayistic part of the book, but from the factual narrative — from the telling of the life of a man of flesh. In this book, Pope Francis appears as an ordinary human being. After all, incarnation is the great miracle. And Pope Francis emphasizes this in every possible way.
First, because he wants to sum up an ecclesiology for the Catholic Church. He tells us that he perceives the Church as the People of God. Christ exists within the body of His people (Corpus Mysticum).He wishes for the clergy — and himself — to bear the scent of ordinary people. The Church’s fragrance is the smell of simple and poor people (“Do not fear contact with the world”).He admires the priests serving in slums, prisons, and amidst the misery of the world — from which emerges Misericordia, mercy, a central concept for Pope Francis.
His life was that of a man grappling with dilemmas, doubts, and oscillations. It was not easy for him to find and declare his vocation. In Francis’ ecclesiology, the priestly vocation holds an essential place. He describes it vividly, recounting how many times he visited San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome to see Caravaggio’s famous painting The Calling of Saint Matthew (Vocazione di San Matteo).
Pope Francis’ theology is expressed through his personal example, through which he taught. His papal style was unmatched: his simplicity, his lodging, his vestments, and his liturgical understanding. Of course, this also extended to his view on the governance of the Holy See — the Curia Romana. His choices in appointing cardinals were often remarkable, as shown recently with the appointment of a young Greek-Catholic bishop of Ukrainian origin from Australia.
This is connected to a point he discreetly and humbly mentions: that the conclave has a memory, and one may discern the prefiguration of the next Pope in the voting patterns of the previous conclave - a nuance that the recent Oscar-nominated film The Conclave failed to highlight. Cardinal Bergoglio had, in fact, received a significant number of votes in the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict XVI.
All these aspects culminate in an even more striking feature of his spirituality: his sense of humor. A human Pope. A Pope who refrained from using the symbols of his quasi-monarchical authority — and who could laugh at himself. After his election, at the first meal with the cardinals, held under modest conditions at the Saint Martha guesthouse, he was asked to make a toast. His toast was: “I wish that God may forgive you for having elected me. Just a few weeks ago, the head of his medical team announced: “The Pope is fully conscious, cooperative, and in excellent spirits, for when I addressed him this morning as ‘Holy Father,’ he replied, ‘Yes, Holy Son.’”
It is clear that Pope Francis was from the outset aware of his capabilities and the opportunity he had to shape the future of the Catholic Church. His political theology was influenced by his Latin American origins and the theology of liberation. He believed that the primary message of the Gospel is deeply social, subversive, radical, and egalitarian: “The poor have a great advantage in claiming the Kingdom of Heaven.” His understanding of politics, democracy, the contemporary world, and the international system of governance was clear, simple, yet practical. For this reason, those who believe they can shape the world’s real power relations regarded him with caution and skepticism. His official visit to the White House during Trump’s first term unfolded smoothly. However, it is unlikely that there will be a second such visit.
He was particularly concerned with the Church’s stance toward “sinners.” The Church is the Church of sinners. Although the greatest mystery is the Holy Eucharist, in the theology of persons, Francis considered confession and forgiveness to be crucial. He characteristically stated, “I have forgiven all those who confessed to me, except one,” referring to a case where he withheld absolution and actually directed the penitent to seek another spiritual guide. He was forgiving toward all “sinners” because he accepted everything human; nothing was foreign to him. He could not say anything different from the Church’s doctrine regarding homosexuality, abortion, or same-sex marriage, but he wanted everyone to feel embraced by the Church and welcomed into the mystery of the Eucharist. He also promoted women within the governance of the Church and the Vatican City State, holding the view that the dignity of women was greater than the ministry of the clergy — although, obviously, this does not resolve the issue of women’s ordination.
I had the opportunity to meet him during the throne feast of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in November 2014, and the memorable experience of the common meal at the Patriarchal refectory following the Patriarchal and Synodal Liturgy, during which he was present and recited the “Our Father.” Thus, I have a personal impression of Pope Francis within an Orthodox setting.
How, then, would an Orthodox religious leader write a similar autobiographical book? Where would the spirituality differ — in which element, in what hue, in what feeling? Perhaps the title would not be “Hope,” but “Resurrection.” Yet if Pope Francis were to prepare a second edition of his autobiography, I am certain he would make this addition to the title.
* Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. This text is based on a speech delivered at the event presenting the Greek edition of Pope Francis’ autobiography (Elpida / Hope, Gutenberg Publications, 2025).
Published in Greek at the newspaper Kathimerini
