The Pope’s Confession: “I am a sinner”

A lot of hubbub is going up on “both sides” as His Holiness once again makes statements about inclusivity, forgiveness, acceptance, and life together as the Body of Christ, with a specific eye cast toward women and gays and lesbians. Traditionalists are quick to point out that the pope isn’t saying anything contrary to long-standing Catholic teaching; progressives are ecstatic about the compassion Francis is calling for.

To be sure, the pope’s changed the tenor of the discussion, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The pope hasn’t changed any policy, only the way the church talks about the policy. In fact, the practice of the Vatican has shown in fact that the implementation of status quo policy will, sadly, continue.

In the interview, however, where His Holiness made his statements about moving beyond divisive issues of abortion and same-sex marriage, he made another statement that, although picked up by the mainstream media and some religious outlets, has by and large fallen to the wayside. That’s a shame because it’s the more radical statement of all the others. Asked who he is, his answer was honest and human:

I do not know what might be the most fitting description…I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.

This humility to make this claim, to own this reality, to confess his own condition as a sinner—this humility is what makes this pope so attractive to so many. It’s what makes him so refreshing. It’s not his disregard for tradition when it stands in the way of the gospel. It’s not his statements that sound radically inclusive or openminded (he is, after all, a Jesuit and they are encouraged to rigorously engage issues and debate them from all angles). The fact that he, the pope, the supreme pontiff of all Christendom, as far as Roman Catholics are concerned, the vicar of Christ on earth—the fact that he admits his brokenness and inadequacy is refreshing and it really does reflect more about the man Jorge Bergoglio than the words “I am a sinner” first belie.

I was once asked what my favorite verse from the bible is. Now, in all honesty, that’s hard for me. I love the bible and to find one favorite verse is difficult. But I had to “produce” a verse so that my interlocutor wouldn’t think I’d never read the bible or some such. So my mind went to one of the verses I quote a lot, from St. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome: “For all have sinned and fail to live up to the glory of the God,” (my translation). The person I was talking with challenged me to find a verse that gave hope. My response: this verse gives me all kinds of hope.

When I hear “For all have sinned and fail to live up to the glory of God,” I don’t just hear “You’ve sinned and fail to live up to the Glory of God,” but rather that I’m not alone in that failure. I’m not the only one who’s come short of God’s demands for my life; in fact, all have sinned, and failed to live up to God’s expectations. If God can love those other people, who are also sinners, then God must also love me too despite the fact that I too am a rotten sinner.

All people are on the same sinking ship of sin, and God promises to rescue us all from it—not just those who we would say are especially holy or pious...because they too are sinners before God their creator.

That is a radical statement of inclusivity. It’s a statement that puts me in the same boat with all other people, and it puts all other people in the same sinking boat I’m in as well. No one can claim some kind of moral or spiritual superiority over me—because “all have sinned and fail to live up to the glory of God.”

When his Holiness makes a confession “I am a sinner,” he’s telling the world he doesn’t see himself as somehow holier or more sanctified than the rest of us. He’s a sinner—just like the lot of us. He’s “a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon,” as he himself says. God has called him to a particular task, to lead the flock of St. Peter, and he has responded to that call by the grace of God. The fact that he confesses his sin so openly is refreshing from the head of a church that, whether intentionally or not, has behaved toward the world as if its on some higher moral playing field.

Francis’ admission to the world of his humanity is what’s truly refreshing about him. Granted, his statements about love and compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation are all refreshing in their own right, but they themselves are the product of the deeper realization of this pope that he is a man called by God to love and serve his neighbor and not lord that calling over those under his charge. He’s a sinner—just like the rest of us.

-DS