Posted on 06/25/2013 3:42:23 AM PDT by servo1969
A last-minute no-show by Pope Francis at a concert where he was to have been the guest of honor has sent another clear signal that he is going to do things his way and does not like the Vatican high life.
The gala classical concert on Saturday was scheduled before his election in March. But the white papal armchair set up in the presumption that he would be there remained empty.
Minutes before the concert was due to start, an archbishop told the crowd of cardinals and Italian dignitaries that an "urgent commitment that cannot be postponed" would prevent Francis from attending.
The prelates, assured that health was not the reason for the no-show, looked disoriented, realizing that the message he wanted to send was that, with the Church in crisis, he - and perhaps they - had too much pastoral work to do to attend social events.
"It took us by surprise," said one Vatican source on Monday. "We are still in a period of growing pains. He is still learning how to be pope and we are still learning how he wants to do it."
"In Argentina, they probably knew not to arrange social events like concerts for him because he probably wouldn't go," said the source, who spoke anonymously because he is not authorized to discuss the issue.
The picture of the empty chair was used in many Italian papers, with Monday's Corriere della Sera newspaper calling his decision "a show of force" to illustrate the simple style he wants Church officials to embrace.
Since his election on March 13, Francis, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, has not spent a single night in the opulent and spacious papal apartments.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
A sign of a Pope who is simple.
A sign of a Pope who is simple.....rude.
A simple note stating “I will not be attending, thank you.”
This will likely remain a great “fill in the blank”. I imagine him visiting a child for perhaps her 6th birthday.
He could have in private done that, doing it without fanfare. Maybe the ones who were taken by surprise were those folks who were not told.
For your gentle correction, this Pope is a simple man. Thank-you.
I would have loved it if he had scalped his ticket :-) Hey, the church could use the money.
Keep in mind that the author is making this up, since he has no idea what the attendees "realized," and that his unauthorized, anonymous gossip source is also simply relating his own opinion, if he's not himself purely a fiction.
According to the article, he was believed to be working on new appointments for the Curia.
And give the money to the poor or to an animal rescue group.
“According to the article, he was believed to be working on new appointments for the Curia.”
Getting rid of his gay lobby members?
He didn’t schedule it.
He’s attempting to make a statement. A jolt will sometimes do that.
I like this Pope...it’s about time...hopefully, he will bring the Church back to what’s important and cut all the drama.
The best Pope ive seen during my lifetime. He seems to be the real deal which is refreshingbin an era of scoundrels as the norm
Posted on 23 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
The other night there was a concert scheduled in Vatican City as part of the Year of Faith events sponsored by the Holy See in Rome.
Pope Francis was a no show. No compelling reason was given. It wasn’t for health reasons. There was no dire missile crisis involving re-phone conversations with nuclear powers. I suspect he just didn’t want to go, so he blew it off.
Perhaps this is part of his continuing deconstruction of the papal person: listening to concerts of classical music (this time, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony) is not what El Pueblo does, thus he doesn’t do it.
Or, maybe he doesn’t like the concert thing, which was clearly organized with Benedict in mind.
The other part of me, however, the Romanized part, is wondering if the Holy Father didn’t use an occasion when he knew where all of his “handlers” were going to be, and how long they would be there, to have a one-on-one meeting with someone who knows what is going on in the Vatican and where the reform is most necessary. After those years in Rome I have a conspiratorial streak.
Either way, the Pope is keeping everyone guessing, and – in the Curia – on edge.
The empty chair image is going to be remembered for a long time, though not in the way it is with Pres. Obama.
UPDATE:
My spies tell me that the Holy Father did not meet with any controversial or knowledgeable person while everyone else was at the concert. Moreover, the Pope does like classical music.
I was reviewing what the Fishwrap was saying about this and found an interesting paragraph by John Allen:
As a footnote, the empty chair sensation also illustrates how Benedict XVI can’t catch a break. Back in 2005, he withdrew from a planned Vatican Christmas concert, which led to a spate of angry interviews with musicians and singers as well as speculation that Benedict didn’t care for the pop culture feel of the event. In other words, his no-show was seen as a haughty gesture of disdain; with Francis, the same act has been praised as an evangelical statement of simplicity.
PS: I suspect that His Holiness was irritated that they left the empty chair out there, making the Pope more conspicuous by his absence.
UPDATE:
You know… there is a “spare” Pope who likes concerts around… just a short golf cart ride away.
How do you know he didn’t tell them he wouldn’t be attending and the powers that be left the chair there in an attempt to embarrass him?
agreed! He’s going to be around for a long time...which the Church needed!
“The best Pope ive seen during my lifetime.”
John Paul II
We’re being blessed with good popes.
Ah, those Jesuits and their Franciscan rivals are so subtle, one never knows, does one?
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