TWO NEW CHURCH LEADERS

These days the media has a field day saying "this is a first..." whatever may be the subject under discussion.  Well - as I write this, I might as well join the throng and suggest that "this is a first".  I am referring to the fact that within a period of just barely over three months,  two great Christian denominations saw the resignations of their leaders and the election of new leaders.  I am of course referring to the resignation of Archbishop Rowan Williams from the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and Head of the Anglican Communion and then the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI as Head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop Justin Welby

Archbishops of Canterbury usually resign rather than staying on the job until they die and at any one time - including now - there are former Archbishops of Canterbury very much still around.  Nevertheless it was unexpected when Archbishop Williams announced his retirement and said he was returning to the academic field.  This caused a flurry within the Anglican Communion worldwide, and speculation as to who would be his successor went wild - or as the popular term now is "went viral".

Pope Francis

With Pope Benedict XVI it was a different matter.  A Pope is elected to the See of Rome as the successor to St. Peter and therefore is supposed to be elected for life.  It is roughly seven hundred years, I believe, since the resignation of a Pope.  Pope St.  Celestine resigned on December 13th 1294, so when Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement in February it caused more than a little stir.  People didn't know what to do, what to call him or what his future role - if any - would be.  But somehow things worked out and he was given the title of Pope Emeritus.

But then the speculation began as to who would succeed him.   It seems everyone had an idea that they decided was the right one, and so as the Cardinals filed into the Vatican Conclave to elect the new Pope the media went wild with speculation.  Or to use the term again - speculation "went viral".

On both occasions - the election of the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the election of the new Pope - I was out of the country and in a place where I did not have access to news or internet, so on each occasion I had to wait until I got back to Phnom Penh to find out who had been elected.

The Bishop of Durham, The Right Reverend  Justin Welby was elected to the See of Canterbury, and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires to the See of Rome and according to reports, both not "front-runners" for those jobs.

I have never met either of these men and these days I am not well up in church affairs but as I read about them I find interesting similarities apart from the fact that they will both be installed in their new roles next week.  The Pope on Tuesday 19th March and the Archbishop of Canterbury on Thursday 21st March.

Both men have been described throughout their careers as humble, accessible and concerned about the poor and those in need.  Yet both are said to be on the conservative side though both have said they are "inclusive" in their thinking,

Pope Francis apparently lived relatively simply, staying in a fairly small apartment in Buenos Aires (where he cooked for himself) instead of the grandiose official residence of the Archbishop.  He travelled to work each day by bus rather than by the official diocesan limousine and flew economy in spite of the fact the Vatican sent First Class tickets. The difference in fare was donated to charities.  Since becoming Pope he discarded some of the elaborate clothing of the Pope in favour of just a white cassock.  He went on an unofficial and on the spur of the moment trip outside of the Vatican to the hotel where he had been staying to collect his luggage, talk to the staff and pay his bill.  Interestingly enough - and I am sure much to the consternation of the Vatican staff - he did not travel in the official papal Mercedes limousine with the papal flag flying and the registration SCV-1, but instead drove in an ordinary black sedan. He also broke with tradition by receiving greetings from his fellow Cardinals standing up rather than sitting in the Papal Throne as had been the custom to date.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is well known for his concern about the poor and the needy in countries around the world.  He has worked with the poor in Nigeria and Burundi and received death threats for doing so on more than one occasion.  He has worked in Eastern Europe during the Cold War era and smuggled bibles into Romania during the dictatorship of President Ceausescu.  During his time as Bishop of Durham he chose to shun some of the gaudy trappings of a bishop, choosing to wear a simple black cassock and a very plain pectoral cross instead of the purple cassock and huge crosses favoured by so many bishops and he is continuing that as Archbishop of Canterbury.  For five days prior to his enthronement at Canterbury, Archbishop Welby is on a pilgrimage to five different cities in England where he joins with the people as he walks the streets, listening to them talking to them and praying with them.

Whether it is the Anglican Communion or the Roman Catholic Church doesn't matter.  They both have two common denominators - they each have a new leader and they each have a multitude of problems to sort out.  The question of sexuality is an ongoing problem in both churches.  The question of women in leadership roles such as bishops is still divisive in the Anglican Communion and even women as priests is a huge concern in the Roman Catholic Church as well as the question of dealing with the pedophilia scandals.

As I said at the beginning, I don't know either man.  I hear they are conservative in many areas, but then so am I on some matters.  To me the very fact that they go "out and about" and meet with and listen to and talk to the people is a huge step forward.  We need leaders in every walk of life that are accessible and who listen. We have to remember that the Vatican is a sovereign state and the Pope is head of that state - in other words he is on a par with Presidents, Kings and Queens so even if he likes travelling by bus and walking around, wherever and when ever, that really may not be a possibility for him in the future.  There will have to be a certain amount of security as well as pomp and circumstance - and even at Canterbury also.

So even if we wish to see these new leaders making drastic changes, lets just give them time.  They have a lot with which to contend and a lot of traditions with which to cope - not to mention having to deal with those staff members and others who have been around for some time and are used to having their way on certain matters,   It is not easy to change things quickly in these circumstance. Power hungry people are hard to deal with and these two good men will have their hands full.