THE SEDIA GESTATORIA IS GONE.

If you look at a picture of a Pope of the last century you may see him wearing not one but three crowns; you may have had the experience of hearing people singing about “….the Pope, the royal Pope who rules from sea to sea”, perhaps been surprised by the  sedia gestatoria in which he was carried into audiences, and by other signs and symbols of royalty.

For Catholics  in Britain and Ireland most of whom had been excluded from taking part in royal things  but felt the need of royalty in their lives, it was consoling to have some equivalent – for them the Pope with  his entourage was their royalty.

Nowadays however things are different. Catholics have regained a lot of their self-confidence in the USA, Britain, Ireland , Europe, and the image of the pope has changed. Changed from the image of King to the image of President. No crown. Inauguration rather than enthronement. Talking to crowds not just making pronouncements to them. Visiting foreign countries, no longer “ prisoner in the Vatican” or quietly making sure not to arouse new antagonisms abroad.And so on .

But all that was then. What of now ? Now there are   further developments. Who would have thought  a century ago of a Catholic president in the USA? Or of a President of the USA playing a saxophone and letting “ordinary people” hear him?When such things occur, what is more natural – or more necessary – than that a Pope should wear more ordinary clothes, do more ordinary things , walk among “ordinary” people (if  people can ever be ordinary), even perhaps take the bus and cook a meal or two for himself ? Be more a president than a pope? That is to say, the Catholic Church leadership is passing though another phase of change which on the one hand is spectacular, and on the other is hardly noticed for what it is because this is the age of such leadership , a mighty transition working its way through from the period when monarchs ruled to that in which presidents rule . A time when even the Duke of Edinburgh bought himself a black taxi.

Many people, possibly most people, will welcome such a change. But some few wise heads will caution – don’t expect too much. Just because a Pope wants to have a significant rather than a spectacular presence , and wants to have conversation with the rest of us, does not mean he will be able to do it. He may be able to go part of the way. But if dialogue is required, and intellectual leadership and a fresh theology and goodness knows what else, many more people than he must be involved . Talking. Discussing. Stopped from talking by the strength of other people’s arguments sometimes  but stopped by fear, never.

The greatest  thing about change is not just that it happens. It happens so often we don’t notice most of it. The greatest thing is not even that we recognise it for what it is when we see it. It’s that we are the ones who actually make the change and invite the “great”people of the world to come along and enjoy it with us.

19.3.13