Because style is substance in Catholicism, Pope Francis' choices about where to live, what to drive and whose feet to wash are more than empty gestures — he is pushing that faith to embrace a simpler but more profound message.
The Holy Father wants a "pastoral church," the Rev. Thomas Reese told more than 300 people crammed Sunday into the sanctuary at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center near the University of Utah. "A poor church for the poor."
Reese, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and columnist for the left-leaning National Catholic Reporter, was giving the 2015 Aquinas Lecture on "Pope Francis and the Reform of the Church."
For 90 wit-punctuated minutes, the lively, loquacious commentator strolled back and forth on the dais, engaging and entertaining Utah Catholics on the topic of what is happening in the world's largest Christian denomination.
Unlike his predecessor, Francis wore no lace, fur or red shoes at his first official appearance. He refused to move to the palatial papal apartment and washed the feet of a female prisoner — a Muslim no less — during Holy Week.
When the former Argentine archbishop got rid of the papal Mercedes in favor of a Ford Focus and a 20-year-old Renault he received as a gift, Reese said, "the two guys on 'Car Talk' quipped, 'He is obviously a man who believes in miracles.' "
"We are a church of symbols; we use them to communicate," Reese said. "The pope is trying to model what it means to be a good bishop or priest or even just an ordinary Christian."
He is telling the faithful to "serve, accompany and defend the poor," Reese said. "We serve the poor with Catholic Charities, feeding the homeless, etc., and we defend the poor with our efforts for social justice."
But to accompany the poor means to do more than "write a check," he said. "It means to invite them for a meal, look them in the eye, become friends."
As part of this effort, Francis is trying to reform the structure of Catholicism by putting those who share his vision in key positions in the hierarchy. He has created committees and synods to examine issues such as marriage, divorce, annulment and the church's response to priest sex abuse.
The pope has invited open and honest discussions among leaders about the direction Catholicism should take and how best to manage it.
The pontiff has said that even stark disagreement "doesn't frighten" him, Reese said. "He believes everything must be said with boldness — as long as it is done charitably."
For now, he said, Francis is firmly committed to priestly celibacy, but may be open to other options in the future.
"A change, if it comes, will most likely not be universal," Reese added, "but in response to a group of regional bishops requesting it."
The pope opposes the ordination of women, the writer said, but he is "listening and learning."
And the church should reach out to those who have left, hearing their reasons rather than scolding them for going.
"We need a church capable of walking at people's side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a church which accompanies them on their journey," Reese quoted the pope as saying, "a church which realizes that the reasons why people leave also contain reasons why they can eventually return. But we need to know how to interpret, with courage, the larger picture."
Sister Cecilia Van Zandt of the Daughters of Charity appreciated Reese's presentation and embraces the pope's goals.
"We cannot expect changes overnight," Van Zandt said. "Discussion [of issues] is the most effective way to move forward."
Progress, she said, "will come."
The Rev. Carl Schlichte, pastor at the Newman Center, which sponsored the lecture, also applauds the pontiff's approach to divisive questions.
"When we have discussions, we need to do it with respect and charity, whether in person, online or in the media," Schlichte said after Reese's presentation. "The purpose of disputation is not to win, but to find the truth. Both heart and head need to be involved."
Jorge Pille, one of the younger Catholics among many gray-haired attendees Sunday, said the pope's message "is what we need to engage young people."
With others, Pille agreed that the Catholic leader seems to have arrived in the right place at the right time.
Francis, Pille said, "is refreshing for sure."
pstack@sltrib.com
Twitter: @religiongal
Pope Francis meets members of the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamist Studies, at the Vatican Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Pope Francis says the most effective "antidote" to violence among Christians and Muslims is learning about each side's differences and then accepting them. Francis also told participants Saturday of a meeting promoted by the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamist Studies that only by carefully listening to each other can interreligious dialogue make progress. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, Pool)
Pope Francis meets members of the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamist Studies, at the Vatican Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Pope Francis says the most effective "antidote" to violence among Christians and Muslims is learning about each side's differences and then accepting them. Francis also told participants Saturday of a meeting promoted by the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamist Studies that only by carefully listening to each other can interreligious dialogue make progress. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, Pool)
Pope Francis flanked by children waves to faithful at the end of the noon Angelus prayer from his studio's overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis waves to faithful during the noon Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 file photo, Pope Francis looks at two children as they free doves during the Angelus prayer he celebrated from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican. Balloons, not doves, were released as peace symbols Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015 in St. Peter's Square, a year after an attack by a seagull and a crow on the symbolic birds sparked protests by animal rights groups. For years, children, flanking the pope at a window of the papal studio overlooking the square, have released a pair of doves on the last Sunday in January, a month the Catholic church traditionally dedicates to peace themes. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese, left, laughs as he talks with The Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, right prior to giving the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese gives the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese gives the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese gives the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese walks to the stage to give the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese gives the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Father Thomas Reese, left, laughs as he jokes with Rev. Carl Schlichte, pastor of St. Catherine of Sienna prior to Reese giving the 2015 Aquinas Lecture, titled, ÒPope Francis and the Reform of the Church" at the St. Catherine of Siena / Newman Center, Sunday, January 25, 2015.
