Six Months and an Eighth Commandment Pope

Six months ago today the Holy Spirit swooped down and showed us all what "doing your job" really looks like. Since that time, Pope Francis has taken the world by storm with gestures as big as a peace vigil in St. Peter's Square and as small as a compact car. He's preached to millions gathered on Copacabana Beach and to Vatican employees at daily Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guesthouse where he lives.

The daily forum of the Domus Mass, recently restarted after a summer hiatus, has carried some especially vivid soundbites from Pope Francis. This morning he tackled gossip, calling it cowardice and saying it "kills the image of God" in other people.

This isn't the first time Pope Francis took on the damaging power of words. On June 13, he memorably noted, in reference to slander, that "the tongue can also kill." On April 15, he said calumny is more than mere sin and is, in fact, the work of Satan. And on March 27, a mere two weeks after his election, Pope Francis cautioned Christians against engaging in the "dark joy" of gossip.

It's probably safe to say that no one imagined the Eighth Commandment would get such a workout under the new pope. But here's Pope Francis, consistently sounding off throughout his short pontificate, warning of the dangers of a hierarchy of speech-driven sins:

1. Calumny -- deliberately lying about a person to destroy his or her reputation
2. Detraction -- saying something true about someone, but for the purpose of destroying his or her reputation
3. Gossip -- more petty trash talk about a person behind his or her back

Even the least of these, according to the pope, is at odds with the "Culture of Encounter" he seeks to promote, in which every person sees every other person they encounter as a human being, loved by God. If gossip "kills the image of God" in others, then we really are less inclined to encounter them as real human beings.

Stepping back against the backdrop of U.S. culture with voices on TV, radio, print and the Internet spouting endless accounts of the failures of other people, the vision and standard Pope Francis holds for society suddenly becomes jarring and daunting. Even more so the value that he suggests people use in place of trash talk: mercy.

With the election of Cardinal Bergoglio, someone predicted by almost none of the pundits and experts, the thought occurred: "Well, kudos to the Holy Spirit for pulling off the relatively mild trick of outsmarting cable news." With his call for an end to gossip, badmouthing and endless attacks on other people, it would seem the election of Pope Francis calls the cable news worldview into serious question in other ways too.

(CNS Photo/Paul Haring)

The Unmistakable New Voice of Pope Francis

The Church is a mother, not a babysitter. The Church is a "love story."

God is a person, not a mist or a "God spray."

Christians must avoid the "dark joy" of gossip.

And yes, pessimism, cynicism and calumny are from Satan.

In case anyone managed to miss it, these comments cement the obvious: the world has a new pope.

At first I wondered if the colorful language Pope Francis has employed in his homilies and audiences wasn't some side effect of a native Spanish speaker preaching in Italian and then getting translated into English. But it soon became clear that the pope's flair for evocative imagery and unique phrases is something meant to cut across languages, not the result of being mangled by them.

Pope Francis uses vivid, at times unexpected language to challenge, inspire and otherwise get his point across. Often bluntly. Sometimes humorously. Always memorably.

It was evident from the beginning in the now public "Bergoglio intervention." Given by the soon-to-be pope at the cardinals' daily meetings before the conclave, he argued against "theological narcissism" and a Church that is "self-referential." Like Cardinal Ratzinger's "dictatorship of relativism" in 2005, these words probably helped elect him. Pope Francis, however, focuses his critique not on the modern world, but on the Church's response, saying Christians must go out into the world, even to its margins (phrasing that has cropped up in subsequent homilies and even tweets).

Pope Francis' talks are marked not by theological narcissism but by examples of daily life. He quotes his grandmother. He compares Heaven to getting cataract surgery. He addresses Catholic life at the parish level. He cuts across cultural and ideological lines and simultaneously comforts and challenges practically everyone in his path. He does this so deftly that he's even proved to be a good fit for Twitter. It's difficult to imagine someone being more inspirational in 140 characters. Rather than analyze this point to death, here are some highlights:

True power is service.  The Pope must serve all people, especially the poor, the weak, the vulnerable. (March 19)

We must not believe the Evil One when he tells us that there is nothing we can do in the face of violence, injustice and sin. (March 24)

Being with Jesus demands that we go out from ourselves, and from living a tired and habitual faith. (March 27)

To experience Holy Week is to enter more and more into God's logic of love and self-giving. (also March 27)

Accept the risen Jesus into your life. Even if you have been far away, take a small step towards him: he awaits you with open arms. (March 31)

God loves us.  We must not be afraid to love him.  The faith is professed with the lips and with the heart, through words and through love. (April 4)

How beautiful is the gaze with which Jesus regards us – how full of tenderness!  Let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God. (April 7)

Being a Christian is not just about following commandments: it is about letting Christ take possession of our lives and transform them. (April 10)

If we act like children of God, knowing that he loves us, our lives will be made new, filled with serenity and joy. (also April 10)

Worshipping God means learning to be with him, stripping away our hidden idols and placing him at the centre of our lives.(April 14)

Jesus’ ascension into heaven does not mean his absence, but that he is alive among us in a new way, close to each one of us. (April 17)

Each one of us longs for love, for truth, for life – and Jesus is all of these things in abundance! (April 22)

At this time of crisis it is important not to become closed in on oneself, but rather to be open and attentive towards others. (April 25)

Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things! (April 26)

The Holy Spirit truly transforms us. With our cooperation, he also wants to transform the world we live in. (April 28)

You could write an encyclical with these!

It's a reminder that the papacy is an office, but the pope is a unique human being, with his own experiences, observations and voice.

For a wonderfully complete round up of memorable quotes from Pope Francis thus far, check out this blog post from John Thavis, former Rome Bureau Chief for Catholic News Service.

(CNS Photo/Paul Haring)