Pope Francis’ Revolution: Conquer Arrogance and Contentment | Mark Shriver | Big Think

Pope Francis’ Revolution: Conquer Arrogance and Contentment

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His Holiness Pope Francis wants to see the end of two things in this world: red sauces at diplomatic dinners, and arrogance.After much research and many interviews with religious leaders of all faiths and denominations, writer and social justice advocate Mark Shriver has come to the conclusion that the pope is restoring the "soul" of the Catholic church through his commitment to core principles of humility and charity. According to Shriver, Pope Francis understands power and uses it effectively on behalf of the disadvantaged. He invites everyone – Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or atheist – to challenge two things: contentment and arrogance. Many of the social divides we experience are a result of a cognitive dissonance between ourselves and other people. The distance could be lessened if we were all out on the frontiers of life, outside of our comfort zone, connecting to those who need it most and showing them that we acknowledge their dignity and humanity as something separate to their current circumstances. "The frontier doesn't have to be halfway around the world, it can be in your neighborhood," says Shriver. "You can go talk to the neighbor down the street that you don't really like or you don't know, and you don't want to take the time to get to know. So that challenge to go to the frontiers is a pretty challenging one." Shriver's new book is Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis.

Mark Shriver's most recent book is Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis.

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MARK SHRIVER:

Mark K. Shriver is President of Save the Children Action Network, where he leads an effort to mobilize Americans to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths globally and to ensure that every child in the U.S. has access to high-quality early childhood education. Shriver’s career fighting for social justice in advocacy and service organizations, as well as elected office, has focused on advancing the right of every child to a safe and vibrant childhood.

Shriver joined Save the Children in 2003, serving as Senior Vice President for U.S. Programs until 2013. In that capacity, he created and oversaw the agency’s early childhood education, literacy, health, and emergency preparedness and response programs in the United States.

Shriver was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002. In 1988, he founded the innovative Choice Program, which serves delinquent and at-risk youth through intensive, community-based counseling.

Shriver’s New York Times and Washington Post best-selling memoir, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, was published in June 2012 by Henry Holt. His second book, Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis, was published in 2016.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Mark Shriver: You know, in this book that I wrote called Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis I talked to not just Catholics, because Pope Francis has a slew of different friends in Argentina, in Rome and around of the world of all of different faiths. I talked to a couple of the rabbis in Buenos Aires, a father who had lost his daughter in the bombing of the Jewish community center. I've talked to atheists and to Christians of other denominations. And what he really does, what Pope Francis does I think beautifully is challenge us all. You can be an atheist or you can not believe in organized religion and just try to develop your own relationship with God. You can be in a more formal relationship with God through the Catholic Church or protestantism. It doesn't matter. What he's really trying to do is to challenge us from a place of joy, it's not fill it with Catholic or Jewish guilt, it's from a place of joy to want to develop a better relationship with God and to develop a better relationship with your fellow human beings.

He tells this great story about giving food to a woman who had to prostitute herself at times to feed her three young kids. The husband had a left her and she came around Christmas time to talk to at that point Father Bergoglio, Pope Francis, and she said, "Thank you for the food." And he said, "I'm glad you got it." And she said, "But what I really want to thank you for is you always called me señora." And when you think about that, you know, he treated her with her dignity and respect.

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