Black Pope, White Pope

Father General began his homily (delivered in good, clear Italian) with a disclaimer. He was not intending his words as a message to the whole world, but simply as a reflection on the readings of the day by a fellow Christian.

He also made it clear that the popular reference to the Jesuit general as the black pope vis-à-vis the white pope was both superficial and unreal.

He then reminded us, as did Benedict in his noon-time homily, that we are in the octave of church unity. His jumping off point was the first verse of the reading from Isaiah, “The Lord said to me: You are my servant.” We are all servants of the word, he said, and as such we are to welcome all people to the dialogue essential to forging unity, especially by embracing the millions of the voiceless—the poor, disenfranchised, and marginalized in our cultures. Certainly it is too early to say what will be the hallmark of Adolfo Nicolás’s generalate, but this theme has been close to his heart for many years. I have no doubt that he will emphasize it.

Link to Fr. David G. Schultenover, S.J. full piece on SG #30 homily (here)