Barack Obama and Pope Francis

Why is the U.S. president so keen to meet the Pope? And what do Catholic Americans think of Francis?

Barack Obama has made it known that there is one theme in particular which he cannot wait to discuss with Pope Francis: poverty. The president, a tireless defender of the American middle class, will come face to face with the dynamic pope who has, for his part, made the fight against social inequality the cornerstone of his papacy. With their electoral affinity, similar ideals, corresponding pragmatic attitudes and a comparable capacity for communication, these two individuals have based their mandate on one sole word: change.

But if Obama’s importance now seems clouded by the fog of blunders and arbitration seen during his six years in the White House, Pope Francis on the other hand is getting a glimpse of the future awaiting him, a future loaded with expectation of the type of changes that the Catholic Church is only just starting to see. That sense of the future, that forward momentum (strong in Francis, weaker in Obama) means it is the president who, in all likelihood, will be the one to benefit from meeting with the pope at the Vatican on March 27.

The Economy and the Man at Its Center

Barack Obama is looking for a discussion partner and an ally in the pope. He too has realized the somewhat paradoxical factor that, as far as those very issues of economy and society on which he was elected are concerned, it seems to be the words of the pope and not his own that count for more and hold more influence in America at this time. In Washington, writes The New York Times, the voice of the pope is the popular and listened to; the voice that stands out from the choir. And he seems to be singing louder than the president.

Pope Francis’ ongoing rebukes that greater attention should be paid to the poorest and weakest sectors of the population, his criticisms against capitalism entirely focused on profit and his repeated messages on and calls for economic justice and tolerance have fixed the pope at the very center of American political debate. These issues have turned him into an important figure to meet with; these themes are now the hot topics which are more deeply felt and more keenly listened to. They are also likely to be targeted in the midterm election in November, which will decide the control of Congress. The Democrats, headed by Obama, hope to capitalize on the Francis “revolution.” The Republicans risk being caught out by it.

The Democrats will be able to take advantage by laying claim to the same wave of inspiration toward greater social justice for their electorate. On the other hand, the Republicans will lose out because the pope’s borderline obsession on moral issues — abortion and homosexuality — touches on some of those very same issues which the Republicans have used as weapons of political warfare until now. These issues range from the battle against Obamacare (which contains clauses on abortion and contraception) to the fight against gay marriage. The difference between Protestants and Catholics is irrelevant here. The religiously oriented conservatives are long-standing allies in America; indeed, the entire conservative front will have to reckon with the words of Pope Francis.

The Progressive Era

For both parties, it is not just a question of winning over (or rather not losing) the very important and large Catholic electorate. The game is bigger than that. It is also a matter of establishing whether the cultural and political turning points that have recently been recorded in the U.S., after 30 years of conservative hegemony, toward progressivism (for example, the election and re-election of Obama or the Supreme Court’s ruling on homosexual marriage) is something that is destined to continue in decades to come. One element is certainly missing — the economic turning point.

The difference between the rich and the poor has never been so stark in the U.S. In recent years (and then, and we could even say, especially under Obama’s administration), the differences have become greater. If the number of multimillionaires has gone up, the number of those who are living within reduced means or below the poverty line has doubled. And so the words of Pope Francis are being followed with such close attention in the U.S. They seem to validate the reasoning which points to themes of social justice as the priority above other priorities.

The increased hourly minimum wage and increased taxation on the rich are two such proposals by the president that were blocked by the Republicans in Congress. Immigration reform is another. Barack Obama wanted to approve a sort of maxi-amnesty for some 10 million illegal immigrants, coming for the most part from Central and South America. The Republicans, on the other hand, are against this. But in the words expressed in favor of the immigrants by Pope Francis, the self-proclaimed “end of the world” pope who himself comes from the very continent from which most of these illegal immigrants come to the U.S., who and what cause can that hope to benefit?

More than just the human experience and the opportunity for intellectual exchange, Barack Obama hopes to bring home this one small piece of political treasure from his meeting with Pope Francis.

Catholic Americans and the Pope

The eyes of Catholic Americans, but also of the conservative front more generally, will be watching this meeting. For the more radical religious right, mostly Protestant, it will be a one-on-one between two socialists. For the others, on the other hand, it is a question of waiting to see what Francis has to say. A survey from last December affirms that in the U.S., the pope’s popularity has increased among believers and nonbelievers alike, and he is more popular than Benedict was, especially among those who consider themselves to be moderates. Ninety-two percent of Catholics questioned expressed a favorable opinion on the first few steps of Francis’ papacy. Among them, the percentage of approval among progressives has gone up in a greater measure than among conservatives.

This last group has expressed their perplexity in a range of ways. But this perplexity is not among elite hierarchies, led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, who do not question the new emphasis on economic and social justice that is coming from Rome. Rather, it is the vast mass of news analysts and activists who are acting as receptive antennas for what a large part of the base of the American Catholic Church is thinking.

For some it is about succeeding in uniting their own fundamental belief in the free market with Francis’ societal “nouvelle vague.” For others however, there is an aversion to his statements on homosexuals (“[W]ho am I to judge?”) and a concern for hidden background preaching that is more tangible in some battles compared to others (take abortion, for example). In a range of cases, this opposition has developed into such a sense of frustration and disappointment that private financiers of Catholic works and bodies have decided to cut their donations.

For now, the world of conservative Catholic Americans is waiting to see what Pope Francis will do. The fact that not a dot of the Catholic doctrine has been changed is a reassuring one, but that Francis might join forces with beatnik America (or has already done so) is more worrying.