By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
Last week, white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel signaling that the 115 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered inside had elected a new pope.
Pope Emeritus Benedict triggered the election in February with his decision to abdicate, becoming the first pontiff to step down in six centuries.
As Catholics across the world and in the Over the Mountain area learned that Jorge Bergoglia had been chosen as the next leader of the Church, the Over the Mountain Journal spoke to a local Church official about the issues facing Pope Francis.
In January, the Rev. Father John G. McDonald, a native of Citronelle, was appointed the new director of Catholic education and lifelong formation at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham. He is also the president of John Carroll Catholic High School and associate pastor at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church.
OTMJ: Before we talk about the election of the new pope, let’s talk about your background. Did you always want to be a priest?
McDonald: I was actually a banker before I heard the call. I earned a history degree at Loyola University and was working in the family business at a bank. I had a house, a car, I was successful at my job as a third-generation banker, but the big question was, “What’s next?” And when I really thought about that question, it was at that moment, that moment of stillness, that I was called to serve.
OTMJ: Going from being a banker to being a priest is quite a leap in vocations. How do you explain that to people?
McDonald: The Church understands the call as God’s voice beckoning you to do what is His will for you, and in His will is our happiness. Before I was called to the priesthood, I had, by all accounts, what most people would consider a very happy life, but I knew God had other plans for me.
OTMJ: What questions or concerns are you hearing about the most since Benedict abdicated?
McDonald: I don’t think people understand why he resigned. They ask if we feel like orphans because the Holy Father abdicated. My feeling is what Benedict has done has given us an example of the life of prayer in which we all must walk. It is really easy to stay somewhere long after you know you should have gone. Benedict was self-aware enough in his relationship with God to know that God had another job for him. People think he’s gone off on some kind of grand vacation or has turned away from us, but really, he is just continuing his work in a different way.
OTMJ: What was your reaction to learning who will be the new pontiff?
McDonald: I am truly excited. It is absolutely astonishing that for the first time we have a Jesuit and a Latin American who has taken the name of Francis. St. Francis of Assisi is a great saint known for his love of the poor and his dedication to “preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” When I saw Pope Francis bow down and ask a blessing from those gathered at St. Peter’s Square, I was deeply touched. Pope Francis has initiated a dialogue in which he has called on all of us to work together with him.
OTMJ: What does it mean that the new pope is a Jesuit?
McDonald: The Jesuit order, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, is formally known as the Society of Jesus. Its members are known for scholarship, outreach to the poor and deep interior prayer. The Jesuit Order has been seen over the centuries in a different light, but every Jesuit takes a vow of obedience to the pope.
OTMJ: What is the significance of Pope Francis being from Latin America?
McDonald: Forty-two percent of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America. It is surely significant that Pope Francis shares in the experiences of the Latin American Church with its deep life of devotion and also the experience of poverty in many places. Pope Francis’ work as Archbishop of Buenos Aires has shown his personal humility and his solidarity with the poor. He refused to be driven in the in the archbishop’s limousine, preferring to use mass transit or his bicycle. He lived in a small apartment and did his own cooking.
OTMJ: What does the Church need most from the new pope?
McDonald: I’ve heard people say the Church is looking for Jesus Christ with an MBA, but it’s important to realize that the pope is not Christ. We look to Jesus first. The Church’s biggest need is that there be a pope, period. We need the pope as a symbol of unity for all Catholics. When Pope John Paul II died, I heard the best explanation on the role of the pope–that the pope is the temporary custodian of the transcendent reality of the Church. Popes come and go, but the Gospel remains our transcendent reality.
OTMJ: What human qualities do Catholics want to see Pope Francis bring to the job?
McDonald: In a world that is rapidly changing, there is a need for a person who can read and understand the signs of the times and then respond to them with the eternal teachings of the Gospel. And that needs to be done in a way that’s accessible to post-modern humanity. The Gospel doesn’t change, but our job as members of the Church, as Christians, is to make the Gospel present where we are.
OTMJ: What do you mean by accessible to post-modern humanity? Would it be someone like Pope John Paul II who was highly visible and greeted crowds from the Popemobile?
McDonald: I mean accessible in a way that we are doing just as Jesus did and taking the Gospel to where the people are; that we’re accessible by bringing the light of Christ to where people are in darkness.
OTMJ: And where are people most in darkness in our modern world?
McDonald: People are in darkness when they’re dealing with failed marriages, when they are struggling with material desire and self-image. Especially here in the West, we can never be thin enough, we can never be rich enough. That’s something the light of the Gospel can help us overcome.
OTMJ: Some would argue that another area of darkness the new pope needs to address is the image of secrets that surrounds the Church is popular culture. What are your thoughts on that?
McDonald: Transparency is an important thing people want with the next pope. The American cardinals, in particular, have their finger on the pulse of the Church when it comes to transparency. I think one of the things on the forefront for the new pope will be to get rid of this “fortress” mentality that can sometimes exist in the Church. It doesn’t mean we throw away all of the old traditions, it just means we become more transparent, more accessible.
OTMJ: There’s that word–accessible–again. Why is it so important that Catholics feel like the pope and his message are accessible to them?
McDonald: In Italian, the world for pope is “papa,” and I think that’s what we need. The Church needs a good Holy Father and a good daddy. We know what it means to have a Holy Father, but we also want a daddy. A daddy is someone you have a relationship with, and I think people are looking for that. In the old generation it was more about “Pray, Pay and Obey,” but now people want a more individual relationship with the Church.
OTMJ: Do you think American Catholics want something different out of the new pope than other Catholics around the world?
McDonald: I think a lot of people want a younger pope than we’ve had in the past. I also think that many people think it is important that the next pope reform the Vatican and make sure the governmental components are functioning properly.
OTMJ: Do you think most Catholics are worried about the transition of bringing in a new pope or are they excited?
McDonald: I think it concerns some, but I think it’s an exciting time, too. It makes me think of what St. Augustine said about the Church being ever ancient and ever new. I think it is a time of great hope, and that hope is central to what Jesus continues to bring to our lives and in the whole Easter season we’re in now.
