The pope’s irresponsible behavior and those who defend it

The Governorate of Vatican City this week made it “obligatory” for “every individual” to wear a facemask inside the offices and buildings of the tiny city-state and its extraterritorial areas, including when outdoors. 

But the very next day Pope Francis held his Wednesday general audience inside the Paul VI Hall and he was not wearing a mask. 

And neither were most of his aides or secretaries, despite the fact that the Governorate stated clearly that the new “norm must be constantly respected”. 

It further said that the Vatican health services, “even through the help of the gendarmerie”, would enforce compliance. Representatives of the health and security departments were in the hall for the Oct. 7^th general audience. 

But since the pope was one of the “individuals” flouting the norm, there was precious little they could do – except react with the same disbelief and deep concern that many other people did who witnessed this irresponsible behavior.

Even people in the Vatican are shocked

“I don’t get it,” said a senior Vatican official, expressing complete bewilderment as to why Francis was engaging in risky behavior.

The 83-year pope, who is visibly overweight and is missing a part of a lung, was not just without a mask at the indoor event. On more than just a few instances during his lingering entrance from the back of the hall he was clearly not respecting proper distancing from people in the crowd.

“It's interesting that in a time of social distancing, #PopeFrancis draws as close as safely possible,” a veteran Vatican-based journalist noted on Twitter. 

But he was not doing it as safely as possible. He was touching objects people gave him and, once again, kissed the hands of recently ordained priests – three of them this time. 

And a number of people who were on the front lines of the corridor that the pope was strolling down were not wearing their masks properly. Many of them did not have their noses covered, including the new priests who huddled around Francis and prayed over him.

Up close and face-to-face

There were two other priests, one who looked to be in his mid-70s and the other a bit older, who had their masks pulled down below their mouths. They actually engaged the pope in conversations, each of which lasted for what seemed to be a couple of minutes.

You could see for yourselves on the Vatican’s video channel on YouTube, except that – different from the videos of previous audiences – this one doesn’t show the pope greeting people in attendance in the 15 to 20 minutes leading to the actual catechesis.

But there’s another problem (and this you can see in the previous videos). It is the behavior of the crowd. Those earlier events were all outside. This one was moved indoors because of heavy rains.

Whether inside or not, the seating plan is designed to ensure proper distance between individuals. But that means nothing when they all leave their places and rush to the barrier, pressing up against one another to get a close-up look at the pope.

It’s understandable that Francis wants to have contact with the “pilgrims” that come to see him, but this borders on recklessness.

Francis becomes another mask-less face for Covid-skeptics 

Interestingly, most journalists who cover the Vatican have remained mum about the pope’s behavior, even those who mercilessly deride Donald Trump – and rightly so – for not wearing a mask and putting himself and others at risk of infection. 

A colleague explained why in a Tweet.

“This sort of criticism has been rare so far, maybe because many of the people most inclined to criticize the pope (at least in the U.S.) are also skeptical about masks,” he said.

Irony of ironies. 

The Covid-skeptics are secretly delighting in the fact that the very pope who has warned Catholics throughout the pandemic to follow the health precautions decreed by their local and national governments has now become another high-profile, unmasked face of their conspiracy theory-driven assault on common sense.

Many Vatican employees are horrified by the pope’s behavior. And so should anyone else who actually cares for this man – and the people with whom he comes in contact each day. 

Fratelli tutti, indeed. 

The pope's false friends: defending the indefensible

But should one criticize the pope – for any reason whatever – the Francis groupies and self-appointed interpreters of his every thought and action will brand that fratello (or sorella) as an ideologue.

“My pope, right or wrong.” That is understandable. 

But if you look at the pope’s fiercest defenders, at least those who seem to spend inordinate amounts of time on social media, the motto has turned into, “My pope is never wrong.”

Pope Francis has been a great gift to the Church and to the world. But he is only a human being. And like all human beings, he can be wrong. In fact, he has shown in the past – as in the case of sex abuse in Chile, as just one example – that he can be spectacularly and devastatingly wrong.

His aides and so-called friends and fans do him no favors by jumping through hoops to defend him when his words or actions are indefensible.

There has been a spike in coronavirus infections over the past few weeks in Italy. In the last three days alone they have risen by 1,000 cases every 24 hours.

Francis’ refusal to wear a facemask and keep proper distance from people at this time of pandemic is extremely troubling. Not only is he setting a very bad example for all those who look to him for guidance, but he is also putting his health and that of others in danger.

Those who truly care for him should at least be able to agree on one thing: now is not the time for another conclave.

Follow me on Twitter @robinrome