Reflections on a Term at the Gregorian University
The Gregorian University arranged for Patsy and me to have a private conversation with Pope Francis. Professor Körner had asked me if I would like to have such an audience, and I had told him that it was not necessary. After all, the Pope is very busy, and Patsy and I had met with him twice before. In spite of my concern, Professor Körner moved ahead and several weeks later, the Pontifical Council informed me that we would meet Pope Francis at the end of the Wednesday public audience on April 4. I wrote to Bishop Farrell noting that they should feel free to cancel the meeting, but they insisted that we go ahead with it in any case. So, we went. We arrived at the front door of the offices of the Congregation of the Faith, promptly at 8:30 AM. Bishop Farrell took us through the door to the back side of the Vatican, avoiding the long lines and security. The Wednesday audience attracts many thousands of people, who sit or stand on St. Peter’s Square. We were taken through the front portion of the basilica where we stood, talking with Bishop Farrell. He gave us each a special pass, and took us forward onto the platform. A papal assistant placed two plastic chairs beside the platform, and invited Patsy and me to sit there by ourselves. It was cold and windy, and it rained for the nearly two and a half hours we sat there. Fortunately, we had our umbrellas and Patsy had a heavy coat.
Pope Francis arrived at 9:30 AM on his Popemobile, and traveled among the crowd for about 20 minutes. He then limped slowly up a long ramp to the platform from which he speaks. The audience began about 10 AM and ran for over an hour. Choirs sang. A bell choir from Florida, made up of about 20 people with Downs Syndrome, played beautifully. Greetings were given in eight different languages. Pope Francis gave a short homily, which was then summarized in several languages. Following the Pope’s benediction, the crowd began to disburse. Pope Francis met first with about a dozen bishops, and then Patsy and I were ushered to the platform where Pope Francis met with us for about ten minutes. [Editor’s note: for photographs of this meeting, see this link: Vatican Media.]
I began by introducing us to him, explaining that we were with the Assemblies of God, that I was ordained, and that we were in Rome because I had been invited to offer a course on Pentecostalism at the Gregorian. “Ah, good”, he responded. I then told him that we have three mutual friends. One is an Argentine Pentecostal pastor, Dr. Norberto Saracco, in whose church in Buenos Aires I have preached. A second one is Mrs. Julia Torres, the elderly Argentine Catholic Charismatic who ate with us at the Chemin Neuf house. She knew and worked with him for many years when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and she introduced Pope Francis to the Charismatic Renewal. The third was Pastor Giovanni Traettino, the pastor of the church in Caserta, Italy where Pope Francis apologized to the Pentecostal community for what Catholics had done to them in the past. I have known Giovanni since 1995, and in 2016, Dr. Jean Daniel Plüss and I both spoke in his church. When I mentioned these three people, Pope Francis became quite animated and spoke of them as being close friends. He commented that they were all “one in unity”. He then encouraged us to work for unity as well. We told him that we would.
I explained that I have served as co-chair of the International Catholic – Pentecostal Dialogue for 25 years, and thanked him for his support of the dialogue. I brought greetings to him from an Evangelical – Catholic Dialogue in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which I also co-chair. Since he is under considerable criticism from a small but vocal minority of Catholics, I tried to encourage him regarding his recent interventions among the various strands of the Catholic renewal. Bringing them all together, as he is trying to do by Pentecost 2019, has raised some resistance by a few strong personalities. He appreciated our support in this effort. Finally, as is his custom, he asked us to continue to pray for him. “I really need it,” he said. Patsy and I assured him of our continuing prayer, and told him that we have prayed for him often since we first met him in 2013. He thanked us and then gave each of us a silver medallion commemorating his 5 years as Pope. On the one side is his Coat of Arms. The other side portrays Jesus welcoming a boatload of migrants. It features the Latin words based upon Matthew 25:35, “I was a stranger and you invited me in.” It is a fitting memory of his work on that issue. We thanked him for his time, and left, as he made his way back to his Popemobile. He looked exhausted, and he probably was, given the long hours that the Triduum and Easter had demanded of him.
Category: Ministry, Spring 2018