REVIEW: Pope Francis: The Disruptive Pilgrim’s Guide by Frank Brennan SJ, ATF Press, ISBN: 9781923385993.
“I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten,” Pope Francis wrote in his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. In many ways, his papacy was informed by the insight. Rather than offering an endless series of documents or prepared statements, Francis tried to bring the Gospel alive in a seemingly endless variety of other ways—through actions like welcoming children who wandered onto the altar during a liturgy or washing the feet of non-Christian prisoners; through travel to places like the island of Lampedusa or to the indigenous peoples of Canada; through conversations with transgender Catholics, victims of abuse and priests who had previously been silenced; through his appointment of women to positions of leadership in the Church and elevation to Cardinal of bishops in outer regions of the Church; through Q&As on airplanes and interviews in newspapers and magazines; through his insistence that every diocese and Catholic conference find ways to listen to the experiences and needs of their people.
After decades of the Church talking about a “new evangelisation” that in practice was rarely new and largely uninterested in listening to people where they are, Francis did things that were completely unheard of and inspired and challenged Catholics and non-Catholics around the world in the process.
Nearing a year on from his death, though, what is the legacy of that work? Many put the answer to that question onto the shoulders of Pope Leo XIV. But in his new book Pope Francis: The Disruptive Pilgrim’s Guide, Frank Brennan, S.J. suggests the real patrimony of Francis’ apostolic mission lies in how we choose to use what he has given us.
Image: ATF Press
The slim volume, which consists of 9 short chapters, collects many of the groundbreaking things that Francis said and did, arranged by topic. Francis’ improvisational style of teaching and interacting with people gets a chapter; so does his preaching on the environment; his treatment of women; his work promoting synodality. And in addition to recalling incidents that are widely familiar, like Francis’ embrace of the young man with the disfiguring facial condition, Brennan does an excellent job of bringing to light quotes and moments that may not be so well known. So in his chapter on Francis’ sense of attending to people on the periphery, he resurfaces Francis’ interpretation of the story of the Good Samaritan. In comparison with those who would believe that we are meant to show concern for those closest personally to us first, and only then those farther away, Francis wrote in Fratelli Tutti that Jesus “asks us not to decide who is close enough to be our neighbour, but rather that we ourselves become neighbours to all.”
“I should no longer say that I have neighbours to help, but that I must myself be a neighbour to others.”
Brennan intends The Disruptive Pilgrim’s Guide to be particularly helpful for teachers and staff in Catholic schools. At the end of each chapter, he provides a series of questions for reflection about their own faith experiences and their work. Where end-of-chapter questions are somewhat perfunctory, even an afterthought, these are finely considered, the kinds of open-ended questions that inspire meaningful reflection. “What does a Church that fully values the gifts and dignity of women look like to me?” he asks at the end of the chapter on women. Or in the chapter on ecology: “How do I give students hope when learning about ecological crises, encouraging them to be changemakers rather than becoming overwhelmed?” Or at the end of the chapter on hard-to-resolve church issues: “When I look at the image of Mary, Untier of Knots, what ‘knots’ in my vocation as a teacher come to mind?”
Any two or three of these questions could easily serve as the basis for a day of recollection for teachers or be used as a prayer invitation at the beginning of a staff meeting. And while about half are focused on the school setting, the other half speak to people in any walk of life.
The book’s finest moment may be chapter 5, in which Brennan takes up Francis’ consideration of women in the Church. While sharing Francis’ positive actions, Brennan also goes into the pope’s refusal to consider the ordination of women, despite the synodal process he had set in motion, having labelled the place of women in the church as Catholicism’s most urgent issue. “Francis failed to advance the cause of women’s ordination,” Brennan writes. “Many Catholics remain convinced that this is a good thing. I am not one of them. That’s why I dedicate this book to my late mother who lived to see her daughters afforded their rightful place in society and to those of my sisters and granddaughters who wonder what place there is for them in the Church today.”
It’s the one moment in the book where Brennan steps out to take a “political” stance. And while some might label that choice controversial, in truth, it’s an example of Brennan himself trying to keep the legacy of Francis alive. To the bafflement of his opponents, Pope Francis not only didn’t dismiss opposing views, he invited them. Francis believed that the true wisdom and path of the Church could only emerge in the midst of the variety of people’s experiences and beliefs, however some might differ from established teaching. Particularly for those working in a Catholic setting, it’s consoling to see a priest write in this way, and to see him call upon the examples of the women who have loved him.
Pope Francis: The Disruptive Pilgrim’s Guide is an empowering guide to the papacy of Pope Francis, one that has the potential to nourish the faith and mobilise the action of its readers for many generations to come.
Jim McDermott is an American culture critic and screenwriter.
You can purchase a copy of Fr Frank’s new book as a hardback, softback or digital copy from ATF Press from $29.95.
