The modernist chapel at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis says daily mass

AT Tradition in Action, Atila Sinke Guimarães analyses a recent statement by Pope Francis regarding his reasons for rejecting the princely splendor of the papal apartments in favor of the relatively austere (and ugly) Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he now lives.

Guimarães writes:

On June 7, 2013, while answering questions of elementary school children from Jesuit schools, Pope Francis made some curious affirmations. When a girl asked him why he abandoned the papal apartments and moved to Domus Sanctae Marthae (Saint Martha’s Inn), he said:

“I can’t live alone, do you understand? It’s not a question of my personal virtue, it’s just that I can’t live alone.”

“A professor asked me this question, ‘Why don’t you go live there?’ and I answered, ‘Listen, professor, it’s for psychiatric reasons,’ because that’s my personality.” (original here)

Guimarães goes on to describe Pope Francis’s instruction to his ambassadors, the Apostolic Nuncios, to abolish pomp and a “princely psychology.”

— Comments —-

A Grateful Reader writes:

To rightly order his thoughts and actions, perhaps Pope Francis should worship daily in one of the hundreds of majestically beautiful chapels throughout Rome. The desire to worship in aesthetic squalor cannot be good.

You use an apt term: Miserablism evokes both a sense of victimization of the poor and the excessive sentimentality of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. It reflects a pornography of compassion.  Saint Matthew, in the fifth chapter of his gospel (verse 3) writes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The Greek word he used was πτωχοί, which means beggars. Thus, the phrase refers to those begging for spiritual grace. They need not live in squalor in order to beg for grace.

Guimarães logically concludes:

“Before Vatican II, we were taught that Bishops and Cardinals must be willing to shed their blood for Christ and for the Faith. The divine example of Our Lord teaches us to accept every kind of persecution from the world, be it bloody or bloodless. Among the latter, the most common and efficient is the use of ridicule to make Catholics bend to the world.

“Now, Pope Bergoglio establishes that the Nuncios should change their princely lifestyle so that they will not appear ridiculous or “be criticized behind their backs.” I believe this is a good criterion for a leader of a political party, a theater boss or a circus director. It is not the criterion for a Pope to give to Catholics who should defend their Faith in any circumstance and should not fear ridicule.”

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