2. Pope Francis is not afraid of chaos.
"No kidding," I hear you say.
Think of the first Christian Pentecost. The sound of a driving wind (where was it coming from?), the unmoored flames popping up seemingly everywhere, voices raised in languages that no one had ever heard, much less spoken, before. It must have seemed like...chaos.
I think Pope Francis would rather provide an open forum for conflicting opinions to be discussed with broad input than allow them to keep being cultivated by special interest groups that cloak their agendas in acceptable language and symbols, all the while working feverishly to divide and conquer.
In other words, he is not afraid of chaos, but he is very suspicious of secret machinations.
What may look like chaos is often part of a process of development; it's a stage in the working out of things. Ideas are proposed, perhaps with fanfare and to general applause. Then, from a quiet corner of the room, an observation is made. A gentle ripple begins to spread. Another fanfare. This time, a trumpet blast from an opposing group. More applause. From a different corner, an upraised eyebrow signals the start of a subtle chain reaction...
No one can really predict where the process will lead. Maybe in the short term it will be a dead-end. Maybe it will lead to something less than optimal being established, but in the long term, no matter how much chaos is raised, we know that when it comes to the Church of Jesus Christ, "the gates of hell will not prevail."
As an older person, Francis has seen this sort of thing many times. No wonder he's not too concerned.
Here are all the "5 (More) Keys" posts:
Key #1 (Pope Francis is Latin American)
Key #2 (Pope Francis is not afraid of chaos)
Key #3 (Pope Francis Trusts in the Holy Spirit)
Key #4 (Pope Francis is Catholic)
Key #5 (Pope Francis is the Pope)
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