Vatican City, Mar 14, 2017 / 04:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Rather than a weakness, Pope Francis' humanity – and his acknowledgment of it – has been a source of strength and impact during the four years of his pontificate, said Vatican's press office director.
“The Pope says something which is very impressive, which is: 'I am a sinner,'” Greg Burke told EWTN News Nightly. “And I think he says that in every interview he does, that none of us is without fault. I think that's been part of his strength: how human he is.”
“Yes, he is the Vicar of Christ and yet at the same time he's a human being like the rest of us.”
Burke reflected on one small moment from Francis’ pontificate that stands out in particular as hugely impactful: which was “when the Pope got down on his knees to go to Confession himself, in front of the cameras.”
The way that Pope Francis leads by example “has done a great service to all of us,” Burke said.
Burke was appointed Director of the Vatican’s press office in July 2016, after just under six months as vice director. Formerly a Rome correspondent for Fox News Channel and Time Magazine, he has worked in the Vatican since June 2012 when he was appointed senior communications advisor to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.
March is the month of anniversaries, with March 13 marking the fourth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election as pontiff, and March 19 the anniversary of the start of his pontificate.
Burke said that in these four years there have been many significant moments, but one that stands out to him is the Year of Mercy, “because it wasn't just that year it was the whole spirit of mercy which I think the Pope has helped remind everyone of.”
“That God is waiting there to forgive us, something he said from the first week of his pontificate, and people knew perhaps, but it's been a great reminder.”
A few of the trips Pope Francis has taken “where he wasn’t supposed to go” were also important moments, he pointed out. For example, when Typhoon Haiyan – the deadliest typhoon on record – hit the Philippines in November 2013, Francis “insisted on going,” saying “I’m not going to leave those people alone.”
“That was impressive,” Burke said.
The Pope also went to the war-torn Central African Republic, “despite the risks,” Burke noted, because he thought it was important that he go there, “so he did.”
In general, Burke said that he believes the Pope’s impact on the Church the last four years “has been huge.”
“The Pope has helped people rediscover the joy of what it means to believe. That despite anyone's limitations, despite their sins, despite the crosses one might have to carry, there is an inherent joy in the Christian life.”
His impact on the world at large has been much the same, he said. “Much of what makes a Christian a better Christian also makes a human being a better human being. In terms of taking care of the poor, visiting the lonely or the sick.”
“And I think the Pope has been a huge wakeup call in that sense, for all faiths, of taking better care of their neighbors,” Burke noted.
Despite confusing or misleading headlines at times, Francis’ message has been consistent the last four years, Burke said: “the Pope's main message is simple and that remains: God loves you, God forgives you, and you just have to be willing to ask for that forgiveness and share God's love with others.”
A lot of people think that the pace of activities Francis keeps are what makes it a “break-neck papacy,” Burke said, but in reality, what has changed the most is communications.
“I think we keep up with it just like everybody else does. Though it's not always easy,” he said.
Personally, Burke said that Pope Francis has impacted him in many ways over the last four years, one of which is in how he pays attention to the person right in front of him.
“He has somebody in front of him and for that moment it's that person and that person is all that counts and I think there's a lot to learn from that,” he said.
“Quite frankly, most of us are busy with a million things, we're busy with our cellphones. We're talking to people and yet at the same time we're checking Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and maybe that's what saves the Pope – that he's not there with his cellphone.”
Mary Shovlain contributed to this story.
Article Archive
How Pope Francis' sincere humanity has shaped his pontificate
Related Articles • More Articles
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...