On April 15 Anglican theologian Angus Ritchie and papal biographer Austin Ivereigh coordinated a conference on the pope’s most recent book, “Let Us Dream.” It was a tremendous honor to be invited to present along with some representatives from Chicago’s Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), not least of which because Pope Francis opened the online meeting by addressing us with a nine-minute reflection and blessing. (The pope’s reflection can be viewed at youtu.be/PxxGx6aXGZ8)
The gathering brought together theologians, university administrators, community organizers and pastoral practitioners from around the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as a number of migrants to those areas from the global south.
The pope has talked frequently about popularismo, or what Ritchie has rebranded Inclusive Populism. This political life “rooted in the people” served as the basis for our discussions about the challenges and opportunities emerging in what we all hope (eventually) to be a post-pandemic world. As the pope has said many times, we as a planet will either be better or worse after the trauma of the last year. None of us can now claim to be blithely unaffected by the trends of globalization, nor convinced that things can somehow magically return to be the same as they were before these recent events.
One of the words that kept arising in these discussions was “protagonists,” because recognizing the agency of the People of the God is the only way to avoid political and ecclesial paternalism.
As Pope Francis put it to us: “When people are cast aside they are denied not just material wellbeing, but the dignity of acting, of being a protagonist in their own destiny and history, of expressing themselves with their values and culture, their creativity and fruitfulness.”
He charged every diocese in the world to collaborate with “popular movements” more intentionally.
“Let Us Dream” is structured with precisely this goal in mind: to encourage people around the world to develop a new way of viewing reality, a spiritually-rooted path of discerning, and a fearless commitment to engaging both interior and structural realities. One of the pope’s intellectual and pastoral mentors, Belgian Cardinal Joseph Cardijn, once called this quintessentially Thomistic construction a “see-judge-act” methodology.
Theological themes like close proximity with those who suffer, fostering a culture of encounter, and manifesting responsible and sustainable stewardship of God’s gracious gift of the material world all allow us to assess the dawn of this new era after COVID with realistic hope for a better and more inclusive tomorrow.
As contrasted with faux populist movements metastasizing around the world, inclusive populism cannot be authentically reflected in ideologies that bedeck themselves in religious garb but fail to embody the message of genuine respect and self-negating conversion that lie at the heart of the Good News.
As theologian Brad Hinze, who was also in attendance, has argued: when conflict is properly understood, its familiar dimensions of violence and destruction of relationships (albeit real), can also be complemented by the ability to “disclose and actualize” the power of God’s mysterious self-communication at work in subject formation of individuals and groups. We know this in our own lives when painful moments enable us to grow as subjects who love, will and act more effectively. It is also true socially and collectively. A prophetic defiance of the status quo allows protagonists to mature in their relationship to the divine and to one other. Thus “a politics rooted in the people” will necessarily flow out of both parrhesia (speaking forthrightly) and “the grace of conflict,” which doesn’t diminish respect for the other, but rather helps forge it in the powerful crucible of interpersonal exchange.
Originally from Collingswood, Michael M. Canaris, Ph.D., teaches at Loyola University, Chicago.
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