By Effie Caldarola | Catholic News Service
After Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen by the College of Cardinals — and the Holy Spirit — to be our pope, a Jesuit priest was walking through the Old Market section of our city.
Propped up against a building was a young girl, looking a little worse for wear with numerous tattoos and a forlorn demeanor. But when she saw the priest in his clerical garb, she rallied enthusiastically.
“Hey,” she shouted, “I like your pope.”
I treasure that story because it illustrates the reach of Pope Francis. Something about him resonates the world over and calls out to the weary, the disaffected, the discouraged.
So, I was excited to see the recently released movie about him, “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.” On a Friday night, with a bag of popcorn to share, my husband and I spent date night at the local cinema watching a film about a sitting pope. I can’t remember that happening before in my lifetime.
The flick was made by Wim Wenders, a distinguished filmmaker who is a nine-time Cannes Palme d’Or contender. The Vatican asked him to make the film, but gave him a completely free hand in doing so. He submitted questions to the pontiff, who answers them in his quiet, simple style, gazing into the camera as if speaking to an individual one-on-one.
Here are my observations, which don’t need a spoiler alert because the ending contains no surprises and the subject is ongoing.
First, I was struck by the beautifully photographed scenes taken from above and in crowds. Some of them were taken from the pope’s own airplane. One was a scene of a huge, seemingly endless garbage dump, where the poor scavenged for goods.
Another was a devastating look at a polluted ocean. These scenes coincided with a discussion of Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home,” and dramatically illustrated the immediacy and importance of his concern.
The focus on the poor underscored the pope’s emphasis on our world’s income inequality and the depravity of so much of our economies.
Massive crowd scenes greeting Pope Francis homed in on individual faces, almost magically capturing the unique beauty of each. The scenes of Pope Francis talking to prisoners and washing, and then kissing, the feet of poor and imprisoned men and women are deeply moving.
It may be bothersome to some that Wenders is a completely uncritical devotee of the pontiff.
Interspersed within the film are black and white theatrical portrayals of St. Francis of Assisi, which suggest that the new Francis, the first pope to take this name, is somehow the heir to this saint’s mandate to rebuild the church. Although I too feel our current pope has been called to reform a church always in need of reform, I found this dramatic device a little off-putting and intrusive.
Catholics, faithful to doctrine, nevertheless have a right to respectfully discuss the actions and attitudes of any pope. If I have a criticism of Pope Francis, it would be his rather lackluster record on clergy sexual abuse, although his recent attempt to rectify this in Chile is commendable. Also, I think he’s talked a great talk about women’s leadership in the church, but there hasn’t been much follow-through.
But if you want a critical appraisal of our current pontiff, this isn’t your flick. If you want to be inspired by a beautifully filmed review of the moral and economic issues facing our world and how Pope Francis powerfully brings the Gospel message to us in addressing these problems, grab your popcorn, prayerfully sit back and enjoy.