I kind of like this guy.
Of course, when you are a global icon, a spiritual guide for more than 1 billion people, and an adviser to both kings and despots, it helps to have a metric ton of charisma — and that tends to make someone likable. So, when Pope Francis visits the United States this week, there will be more than a bit of pomp and circumstance. There also will be a bit of irony.
Francis, the pope who has spoken out against greed and against unfettered capitalism that is “the dung of the devil,” is inadvertently generating some commerce in his own right. For a motorcade through Central Park on Friday, scalpers are asking as much as $200 for tickets that were handed out for free by New York City and the local archdiocese. Some 40,000 tickets were distributed, with each one allowing the holder and a guest to see the pope and his popemobile. Tickets also are hot for a Mass that Francis will celebrate Sunday, Sept. 27 at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, with at least one seller seeking $5,000 for a pair.
None of that really matters and none of that is of Francis’ making; I just thought it was interesting. A humble man thrust into our star-obsessed culture.
It should be noted, as well, that the pope delivers his treatises against consumption while flying all over the world and while the Vatican is not lacking for luxury. Still, Francis has elected to reside in a guesthouse rather than the traditional papal apartments and, as The New York Times reported last week: “Like no pope before him, Francis is using the grand stage of his trip to the United States to demonstrate that the church exists to serve the poor and marginalized, and that this is the responsibility of all Catholics — whether pontiff or parishioner. … Francis has seven events scheduled at which he will interact with ordinary people.”