What lessons might we learn for our understanding of hierarchy and the nature of Christian leadership from the papacy of Francis 1? Are these transferable to an Irish Anglican Context?

Introduction

On the night of his election, Francis I^[ 1 ]For the purpose of this essay, and the need for brevity, I will refer to Francis I / Pope Francis as Francis emerged in his habitual black trousers and overcoat, and asked to be driven around the city to watch the celebrations. The next morning he wore the same garb to the chapel. Francis began the highest position of leadership of the Catholic Church as he meant to continue, turning centuries of papal lifestyle and tradition on its head and the Vatican staff learned then that the “Pope did what Bergoglio had always done.”^[ 2 ]Paul Vallely, Pope Francis: Untying the Knots (London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2015) 165 Francis insisted on “installation”, not “enthronement,” since he was ‘not a King,’^[ 3 ]Ibid. 165  rejecting the Papal cloak and red shoes for a simple white robe. Contrary to Papal protocol, he paid his hotel bill, reminding the receptionist about the phone charges due. Flustered hotel staff protested that the Pope did not need to pay. That, Francis insisted, was precisely why he had to pay.^[ 4 ]Ibid. 166 Francis’ leadership embodies a tangibly Christ-like, servant leadership that has shocked the secular and Christian world.

In this essay I will examine aspects^[ 5 ]The constraints of the length of the essay prevent a more extended discussion on leadership aspects of Francis I. I have therefore chosen a few attributes which I feel are most subversive to the concept of hierarchy and which illustrate the essence of a radical leadership lifestyle. of Francis’ leadership lifestyle^[ 6 ]I am deliberately using the term “lifestyle” as opposed to “style”. I will elaborate this distinction further in the essay. that subvert expectations of hierarchical papal models, replacing them with a quintessentially Christocentric model of leadership. I will discuss briefly whether Francis’ unorthodox papal lifestyle and unconventional leadership and hierarchy might be transplanted to the Irish Anglican context.

Meekness and Magisterium: Lessons in leadership and hierarchy

As election grew likelier, a friend leaned over to him, saying ‘don’t forget the poor.’ “I thought of [Saint] Francis,” Bergoglio recalled, “a man of Peace.”^[ 7 ]Vallely, Pope. 157 He chose a papal name that points to the nature and intent of his leadership.

Leadership – Christ and gospel lifestyle

Francis’ leadership is more than a style adopted by a leader. Unusually, it is the lifestyle of the man himself.  Boff compares Francis to the Saint who felt called to live by ‘the pattern of the gospel.’^[ 8 ]Leonardo Boff., Francis of Rome and Francis of Assisi, Trans. Dinah Livingstone (New York: Orbis, 2014)  Franciscan spirituality was at the core, living by ‘the words & deeds of Jesus in the gospel:’ the ‘humility of God as revealed in incarnation,’ ‘the love manifested in Christ’s passion,’ ‘care for the good creation, and commitment to the poor.’^[ 9 ]Philip Sheldrake (ed.), New SCM Dictionary of Christian Spirituality (London: SCM Press, 2005)  402 In essence, Francis’ leadership is a lifestyle that imitates Christ in word and deed, visibly modelling Christ’s humble, servant leadership.

Monastic and Institutional leadership

The church has always struggled with the tension of hierarchic and monastic models of leadership. The hierarchical model is reflected in the institutionalised Church – a leader is appointed by the hierarchy, vested with ‘authority through Christ,’ and granted a ‘right to command and control those beneath with little accountability.’^[ 10 ]Sheldrake SCM Dictionary. 310-11
Here, any claim to unauthorised ‘guidance’ by the Holy Spirit was viewed as a threat to authority. The monastic model, in contrast, is inherently a lifestyle, a servant-leadership of personal holiness, reliance on scripture,^[ 11 ]Ibid. In the case of the monastic leadership, people claiming the inspiration of the Spirit’s guidance were taken seriously and assisted in discernment. and the call to ‘Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary [using] words.’^[ 12 ]Valelly, Pope. 182 This lifestyle, characterised by ‘devotion to God, zeal for righteousness, compassion, patience, role model to the community, and the pursuit of discernment,’^[ 13 ]Ibid. 403 is demonstrably evident in Francis’ life, as Vallely’s anecdotal biography portrays.

Francis’ papacy, however, moves away from binary oppositions of historic monastic and hierarchical institutionalised leadership styles, to a new, unique blending of both.^[ 14 ]Ibid. 403.
Luther, Calvin, Baxter and Fox revisited the tensions of monastic spirituality and institutionalised leadership during and after the reformation. Although, the early days of the reformation demonstrated many aspects of the monastic style of leadership and life, there was the eventual movement towards the structuralised institution as the Protestant denomination was institutionalised. The reformation itself was ironically a revolt against authority and institution, and consuming issue at hand was the waning spirituality of faith. Boff identifies Francis’ leadership as one that ‘did not criticize the dominant style of leadership but simply inaugurates and enacts a new style.’^[ 15 ]Boff. 37 His papacy represents the Kingdom of God modelled through earthly leadership and structures. His monastic lifestyle represents the Kingdom values of Christ – paradoxically challenging earthly, hierarchical norms even as it operates within the institutionalised, fallen, and deeply hierarchical structure of the Church.

Leadership of grounded humanity

In Wordsworth’s phrase, “the child is the father of the man,”^[ 16 ]William Wordsworth., ‘My Heart leaps up when I behold’, <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/my-heart-leaps> Academy of American Poets. [Accessed January 2016]  Bergoglio is the “father of” the Pope. Francis grew from a boy of deep faith, through passionate and enquiring priesthood, into a nonconforming bishop. His early vision for the Kingdom of God and passion for the joy of the gospel (Evangelli Guadium) now characterises his distinctive papal leadership. He had a joy of life,^[ 17 ]Vallely, Pope. 20 He loved dancing (especially tango) and remains a football enthusiast. a diverse work experience that helped him understand the dignity of labour.^[ 18 ]Ibid. 17 ranged from cleaning and clerical work, to work at a hosiery and laboratory. His life in Argentina gave him a vision for ‘good news to the poor.’ He engaged with communist thinking, while his Jesuit training with its Ignatian tradition of intellectual and spiritual rigor, brought a love of philosophy and theology. He had a thirst for study which he pursued to doctoral research. Evangelii Guadium – the joy of the gospel – reflects not just his spiritual depth, but his intellectual acumen and socio-political awareness.^[ 19 ]Pope Francis, Evangelii Guadium <http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html> Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013. He had a deeply missionary spirit,^[ 20 ]Vallely, 22-3 He even wanted to be a missionary to Japan, although illness prevented this.  and a desire for community life and discipline. He brings all of these to his papacy.

Leadership of Discernment, Wisdom and insight

Evangelii Guadium^[ 21 ]Pope, Evangellii is, as many have recognised, the ‘work of an amazing mind,’^[ 22 ]Vallely, 219 the voice of a philosopher, socio-political analyst and theologian. Yet, we find the voice of the monastic Jesuit, priest, and Pope. Francis would begin to use his hierarchical position to bring new life to the church, while also bringing his deep and personal insights, born of his monastic, parish and Ecclesial experience in Argentina, into the nature of Christian living and leadership. The document presents Francis’ discernment, wisdom and insight into both the church and world.

Leadership of Humility

‘My style…as a Jesuit…had many faults,’ Francis admitted in an interview. He speaks publicly and openly about failures and regrets, acknowledging he had been ‘authoritarian, hasty and rash.’ The church and secular worlds^[ 23 ]Daniel Horan, ‘Just Having lunch’ America 213, no. 13 (November 2, 2015): 33. (Accessed January 14, 2016) The article describes the normalcy of Francis’ average day, his mingling with all the staff in the cafeteria. were astonished.^[ 24 ]Vallely, 205-6 When confronted about a gay clergyman, his response once again reflected his humility: ‘who am I to judge.’ ^[ 25 ]Vallely, ‘Pope Francis and the Synod: Changing the Way the Catholic Church makes its Decisions’ in The Tablet Lecture 2015. <http://www.thetablet.co.uk/UserFiles/Files/Tablet2015lectureONLINEVERSION.pdf>

As demonstrated on the night of his election, Francis continued as Bergoglio. A cleric who least desired Papal honour, wearing unsuitable ‘shabby shoes,’^[ 26 ]Vallely, Pope.147 he was ‘agitated’ at the prospect.^[ 27 ]Ibid. 153 His acceptance began with the words ‘I am a sinner.’^[ 28 ]Ibid. This knifes through the mind-sets of senior Anglican leadership (or ‘curia’!) in England preparing chosen young ordinands for positions of leadership,^[ 29 ]‘The Green Report’, The Church Times, January 2015 a journey to leadership that bears little resemblance to Francis’ reluctant unplanned movement towards his place in the hierarchy.^[ 30 ]1 Samuel 16 They perhaps echo the prophet Samuel’s preference for the stalwart sons of Jesse over the simple keeper of sheep in the fields.

A startling humility that overturns established hierarchical models of leadership has been a hallmark of Francis’ life. Refusing papal honours, he declined rich vestments and papal thrones, symbols of supreme hierarchy and ‘imperial power.’^[ 31 ]Vallely, 159 Conversely, imitating Christ, he ‘emptied himself of power, taking the form of the servant.’^[ 32 ]Philippians 2: 1-4 He refused to stand on the elevated platform, but greeted cardinals as equals; the ‘Pope as Prince in the pyramid model of spiritual authority’ – the ‘autocratic feudal monarchy’ – was over. Francis was ‘first among equals and the cardinals were ‘brothers.’^[ 33 ]Vallely, 159-60 Francis he greeted them with a hug, replacing the tradition of the cardinals kissing the ring. His first public audience shocked people: he spoke in Italian, made a gentle joke, bowed his head and asked the people to pray for him before he prayed for them.^[ 34 ]Ibid. 160-61

The Pope’s outrageous imitation of Christ’s humility and servant heart cut across all leadership posturing and ‘styles.’ A month after his election, on Holy Thursday, he set a ‘marker’ for leadership: he visited the juvenile prison where, kneeling on the stone floor, dressed as a deacon, he washed and kissed the feet of twelve prisoners – black, white, male, female, catholic, orthodox, Muslim and Jewish.^[ 35 ]Vallely, Pope. 178 He fractured tradition and breached church law.

Leadership of Prophetic Speech

Like the biblical prophets, Francis confronts corruption and evil in the Church and the world.^[ 36 ]‘The moral challenges of our time.’ (Editorial) New Statesman 142, no.5190 (December 20, 2013): 5.  Nevertheless, his focus and fire, like Christ’s, was for God’s people.^[ 37 ]Ibid. 218 Echoing Christ’s rhetoric when confronting the Scribes, Pharisees, and Temple moneylenders, Francis made his 2014 Christmas address to the Curia. He warned them of the ‘devastating diseases’ attacking every ‘Christian…curia, community, congregation, parish and ecclesial movement’ at ‘individual and community levels’.^[ 38 ]Pope Francis, “The Roman Curia and the Body of Christ”, Presentation of the Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia: Address of his holiness Pope Francis, Clementine Hall, Libreria Editrice Vaticana: 22^nd December, 2014) <https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/december/documents/papa-francesco_20141222_curia-romana.html> ‘ The ‘diseases’ of the church and leadership;…of thinking we are “immortal”, “immune” or downright “indispensable”, neglecting the need for regular check-ups’;…the ‘Martha complex’;… mental and spiritual “petrification”’ where ‘those who have a heart of stone, the “stiff-necked”’…who lose their interior serenity, alertness and daring, and hide under a pile of papers, turning into paper pushers and not men of God; disease of excessive planning and of functionalism; ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s disease’; ‘disease of existential schizophrenia. This is the disease of those who live a double life, the fruit of that hypocrisy typical of the mediocre and of a progressive spiritual emptiness which no doctorates or academic titles can fill;’ ‘disease of gossiping, grumbling and back-biting’; ‘disease of indifference to others;’ ‘disease of hoarding’;  the disease of worldly profit, of forms of self-exhibition;’ ‘disease of closed circles, where belonging to a clique becomes more powerful than belonging to the Body and, in some circumstances, to Christ himself.’  He denounced global economic systems that destroy human life and castigated the evil of unregulated capitalism, calling for the reform of financial systems to benefit all.  Evangellii Guadium outlines a series of responses to corrupt social structures:  ‘No to an economy of exclusion…to the new idolatry of money…to a financial system which rules rather than serves…to the inequality which spawns violence.’^[ 39 ]Evangelii

Leadership with the common touch and unorthodox power

Francis ruptured tradition.^[ 40 ]Vallely, Pope. 178 He uses hierarchical power to restore a Christ-like leadership model. He shocked the Curia at his first Christmas mass as he talked of ‘Career clericalism’ as a ‘form of cancer,’ and upheld the role of ‘a shepherd who smelt of sheep.’ ^[ 41 ]Pope, Christmas, 2014

The anecdote of the young Swiss Guard and Francis demonstrates the rubric with which he confronts institutional structures and rules: ‘I am the pope, I will decide.’^[ 42 ]Vallely, Pope. 290 Realising the soldier had been standing outside all night, Francis brought him a chair. The guard said this was against the rules. ‘Whose rules?’ asked Francis, ‘My Captain’s orders’ he responded. ‘Well he is just a captain, and I am the Pope, and my orders are that you sit down,’ he told him; Francis later brought him bread and jam.^[ 43 ]Ibid. 190 He phoned an Argentinian woman who wrote to him about the prohibition in receiving communion because of her marriage to a divorced man; find another parish where you can, he told her. In conversations with an atheist journalist,^[ 44 ]Russell R. Reno. ‘Pope Francis: from secular journalists to charismatic Christians, why so many of us are taken with the Jesuit from Argentina.’ Christianity Today 58, no. 10 (December 2014): 36-42. the relationship with mattered more than watching his words.^[ 45 ]Ibid. 231

People mattered more than itineraries,^[ 46 ]See Rowan Williams, ‘Man of the masses.’ (cover story).” New Statesman 144, no. 5278 (September 4, 2015): 26-29. he intimated, as he visited sick and disabled children – greeting, kissing, and embracing them.^[ 47 ]Ibid. 186 On his first papal birthday he invited the homeless to breakfast.^[ 48 ]Ibid. 165 On his second, he had sleeping bags given to the homeless, and public bathrooms installed in St Peter’s square, and in ten parishes.^[ 49 ]Ibid. 230

Unsettling Leadership

Francis communicated with ordinary people – and not just through public speeches, statements, and press officers, as church hierarchies often do. He lifted the phone and talked to ordinary people across the world, and answered letters. He counselled a woman in Argentina who had been raped by the police, comforted a man whose brother had been murdered. He learned what was happening on the ground. As a business guru pointed out, he was ‘contacting stakeholders’ and giving his priests a ‘lesson in how to connect’ with followers.^[ 50 ]Ibid. 231-232
A pope, Archbishop or senior leader normally schedules time with other leaders. Francis went beyond this. He even maintained his own diary, travelling without an entourage. The business guru further elaborated that ‘people needed to see and hear their leaders.’

The church, steeped in tradition and old patterns of behaviour, were unsettled by Francis’ challenge – that what they found ‘comfortable and beautiful’ had become ‘stale and ineffective.’ He insisted that the pastoral took precedence over doctrinal, and people ‘always came before institutions.’ He told his clergy to go to the poor to learn, not to teach,^[ 51 ]Ibid, 230 but much was taught by Francis’ own pattern of Christ-like leadership.

 

Irish Anglicans and Francis’ leadership model

Francis’ model, being profoundly Christological, is eminently transferable to the Irish Anglican context. More than a biblical example, Christ-like leadership is Christ’s command. Perhaps this imperative extends even to wider Christian leadership in churches. But Francis’ and Christ’s model of leadership is deeply discomfiting and challenging, and may not be welcomed by all.

The question for us is whether, as in the parable of the sower, the soil of the Irish Anglican Church body and leadership might be fertile ground for such lessons? Several aspects of Anglican tradition and leadership could hinder this. Will the Irish Anglicanism – clergy and congregation – welcome the overturning of rules and traditions? Or will they, like Catholic clergy, cling to what the beautiful and comfortable but ‘stale and ineffective?’

Many aspects of Francis’ leadership cut across our natural human tendencies as leaders. It is counter-intuitive to those of us formed in a culture dominated by secular and managerial leadership models. Given that Church leadership is often – in the Irish Anglican context, the wider Anglican Communion, and in other churches – modelled on success criteria taken from the business world, it may be difficult at best  to incorporate the monastic, lifestyle-based model of leadership lived by Francis. His insistence that the ‘pastoral took precedence over doctrinal’ would cause anxiety in a culture where orthodoxy is highly prized. The thought that people ‘always came before institutions,’ confronts the reality of a church, where, given a shortage of administrative staff and money, the maintenance of church buildings is an imperative placed on clergy. And many of Francis’ challenges are deeply uncomfortable (such as going to the poor to learn, not to teach or extend benevolence and charity).

Nevertheless, Francis’ leadership challenges ought to cut across the conscience of all those in the Irish Anglican context: the call to view the poor not as objects of charity, but sources of learning; the challenge to confront our collusion with systems of the world in personal and church lives; the need for a prophetic voice in the world as we confront unjust systems, human suffering, and exploitation; the willingness to embrace the discomfort of change; to question the place of structures, beauty and comfort in the context of a Christ-like lifestyle; a passion for reconciliation, forgiveness and justice. And many more.

 

Conclusion

There are moments in time when the world is blessed with the gift of someone who reminds us what Christ was really like, who challenges us to rethink our settled ways, who models a different way, who disturbs our comfortable Christian lives. Francis, I believe is one such gift to the world and the Church. Irrespective of our denominational backgrounds or allegiances, it is a leadership challenge we must consider, as individuals and as a Church.^[ 52 ]Gerard O’Connell, ‘Road Map for Church Leaders.’ America 212, no. 8 (March 9, 2015): 22.

The seismic changes of Francis’ papacy overturn much that was accepted for centuries, causing waves of shock, relief, celebration and fear. As Jesus did in his time. As we should, today.

 

 

Bibliography and References

Boff, Leonardo., Francis of Rome & Francis of Assisi: A New Springtime for the church. Trans. Dinah Livingstone, (New York: Orbis Books, 2014)

Green, Julien The Life and Times of Francis of Assisi (London: Fount, 1983)

Fare, Diego. ‘Pastors, Not Princes’. America 213, no. 1 (July 6, 2015): 16-24. (Accessed January 14, 2016).

Horan, Daniel. P., ‘Just having lunch’ in America 213, no. 13 (November 2, 2015): 33. (Accessed January 14, 2016)

Percy, Martyn., Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion. (London: Ashgate, 2013)

O’Connell, Gerard, ‘Road Map for Church Leaders.’ America 212, no. 8 (March 9, 2015): 22.

Pope Francis (author) Von Stamwitz, Alicia (ed)., The Spirit of Saint Francis: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis (Cincinatti: Fransican Media, 2015)

Pope Francis, Evangelii Guadium <http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html> Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2013 [Accessed January 2016]

Pope Francis, “The Roman Curia and the Body of Christ”, Presentation of the Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia: Address of his holiness Pope Francis, (Libreria Editrice Vaticana: 22^nd December, 2014)    <https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/december/documents/papa-francesco_20141222_curia-romana.html> [Accessed January 2016]

Pope Francis, Presentation of the Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia: Address of his holiness Pope Francis” (Liberaria Editrice Vaticana, 21 December 2015) <https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/december/documents/papa-francesco_20151221_curia-romana.html> [Accessed January 2016]

‘The moral challenges of our time.” New Statesman 142, no. 5190 (December 20, 2013): 5.

Reno, Russell R. “Pop Francis: from secular journalists to charismatic Christians, why so many of us are taken with the Jesuit from Argentina.” Christianity Today 58, no. 10 (December 2014): 36-42.

Vallely, Paul., Pope Francis: Untying the Knots (Bloomsbury: London, 2015)

Williams, Rowan., ‘Man of the masses.’ (cover story).” New Statesman 144, no. 5278 (September 4, 2015): 26-29.