Will the simplicity of Pope Francis change our leaders & us?

Although I’m a non-Catholic Christian, I share the excitement of the whole nation over the coming visit of the “rock star” Pope Francis to the Philippines. Why? More than his words or homilies, I hope that his extraordinary example of simplicity, fiery social idealism and moral leadership will rock our society to its foundations and help drastically change our leaders.

A sizeable number of our leaders, whether due to ill-gotten wealth or inherited fortune, tend to live like modern-day rajahs, oblivious to the massive poverty that still exists in our society.

Is this perhaps to awe their subordinates, followers and cohorts, by displaying their wealth as a tangible symbol of their clout? Perhaps extravagance for its own sake is one of their thrills and shallow reasons for being?

For generations, not a few of our political, social, business and even many nouveau riche pop stars have tried to outdo each other in crass extravagance that would have put even the Noli Me Tangere novel’s gaudy Doña Victorina to shame.

I am not against luxury per se, for many of the world’s finest art works like Mozart’s music to Michaelangelo’s sculptures were created with support from wealthy patrons who loved the finer things in life. However, I believe extravagance, in our country, is wrong due to bad timing, inappropriate context and sheer lack of good taste.

Simplicity made Jesse Robredo, Jovy Salonga & JUAN Flavier great leaders

To me, one of the worst effects of extravagance by not a few of our leaders and celebrities is its corrosive influence on the moral values and aspirations of the middle-class, the masses and especially on the malleable minds of young people.

Those in our society who have more in life also have a responsibility to inspire or lead us towards moral regeneration and progress, not towards moral decadence.

Can the presence of the simple-living, reformist and straight-talking Pope Francis encourage more of our leaders to become similar to the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo? I personally saw him riding his bicycle while still the well-loved mayor of Naga City, and he also took a bus on his trips back home to Bicol, even when he was a cabinet secretary.

Secretary Robredo was one public official I knew personally and I regret not having interviewed him for this column, because his humility made this hardworking and smart leader so low-profile compared to most other politicos.

Other examples of outstanding leaders with simple lifestyles are the 94-year-old ailing former Senate President Jovito Salonga who didn’t enrich himself materially; and also the late Senator Juan Flavier who was a simple man until the day he died. 

15 maladies of Vatican curia also apply to our politics?

We in the Philippines should learn from the strong-willed Pope Francis who is trying to shepherd the Roman Catholic Church — which in the past exemplified gilded wealth and was, at certain periods, even wracked by corruption scandals — to return to the fundamentals of faith in God.

Last December, the Pope’s scathing words in a fiery speech before Christmas were like a sledgehammer that hit hard on the Vatican hierarchy by enumerating 15 maladies — maladies which I think a lot of our political leaders in the Philippines also suffer from. Pope Francis declared: “A curia that does not practice self-criticism, does not keep up to date, does not try to better itself, is an infirm body.”

Pope Francis exhorted Church leaders to genuinely serve and feel with the masses, to not succumb to the ailment of mental and spiritual petrification. He slammed those leaders for hypocrisy, “existential schizophrenia,” the “pathology of power” that afflicts those who seek to enhance themselves above all else, the “terrorism of gossip” and others.

The 13th malady cited by Pope Francis is wanting more: “When the apostle tries to fill an existential emptiness in his heart by accumulating material goods, not because he needs them but because he’ll feel more secure.”

The 15th malady among lousy leaders is their seeking worldly profit and showing off. He said: “It’s the sickness of those who insatiably try to multiply their powers and to do so are capable of calumny, defamation and discrediting others.”

Welcome, Pope Francis, to the Philippines. May your example of simplicity eloquently remind our leaders and the rest of us that simplicity leads to true greatness!

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