Francis
is living up to his growing reputation as the "People's Pope."
 |
| Papal Farm at Castel Gandolfo/Catholic News Service |
Old songs occasionally need to be refreshed with updated verses.
Here’s one: “Old McPope, he had a farm /E-I-E-I-O/ and on that
farm he had a cow…a donkey… chickens…ostriches…and rabbits…/E-I-E-I-O!”
Who knew that the Pope had a farm?
Well, he does. Fifteen miles outside of Rome, Castel Gandolfo is
a 135-acre plot of Paradise on Earth. It features Roman ruins, breathtaking
views of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and (of course) a castle.
Since the 1500s, this place has been a summer vacation home for
popes. In the 1930s, the Vatican added some bucolic functionality by planting
crops and bringing in some farm animals.
And now, Pope Francis, who chose the patron saint of animals as
his papal name, has opened the farm
to the masses, welcoming us to witness the productive bounty and
beauty of nature.
For this pope, however, Castel Gandolfo is also a living
metaphor. It personalizes his message that
we humans are “stewards, not masters” of nature, and that “access to food is a
basic human right that shouldn’t be subject to market speculation.”
He’s been putting the power of his popeship behind religious and
governmental policies that promote food justice, provide proper stewardship of
natural resources, and combat the causes of climate change — all a part of his
overarching call for a moral ethos that rejects “the
pride of dominating, possessing, manipulating, exploiting.”
By opening the papal farm to the public, Francis is not only
providing a living model of a sustainable food system. He’s also extending his
pastoral ideals of humility and openness.
This guy is living up to his growing reputation as the “People’s
Pope.”
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is
a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also editor of the
populist newsletter, The Hightower
Lowdown. OtherWords.org.