Fr. Angelo has a very good post on the problem of interpretation of "Franciscan" poverty as it has been debated in the light of Pope Francis' simplicity.
The life of St. Francis is subject to much sentimental hype because of his love for creation and his identification with the poor. The saccharine images on holy cards and sculptures in gardens don’t help the matter. Pope Francis seems be subject to the same kind of misinterpretation.
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St. Francis’ love for poverty was almost immediately misinterpreted, even by the friars, and turned into an ideology. The Order was almost suppressed in the time of St. Bonaventure because of the internal strife that resulted from this misinterpretation. But the problem was that the Franciscan charism is both radically evangelical and radically ecclesial. St. Francis was a reformer, who wished to have for himself and his friars “nothing of this world.” But he distinguished himself from other evangelical movements that were anti-ecclesial by his radical obedience to the See of Peter. The rebuilding engaged in by St. Francis had this dual characteristic of restoration and reform. - The Franciscan Papacy
Thank you for linking to this article by Fr. Angelo. It's helpful and thoughtful.
ReplyDelete"St. Francis’ love for poverty was almost immediately misinterpreted, even by the friars, and turned into an ideology."