A couple years back, shortly after becoming Pope, Francis began changing the way finances were managed at the Vatican. I wrote back then that I thought that was an important move, not only because it was prudent management, but because of the “optics” he was creating by taking advantage of skill sets from within the laity. One of those optics was transparency. While it didn’t put the financial condition and management processes on the web for all to see, it did breakdown some of the clericalism that tends to both obscure bad practice and insulate the institution from change. Involving prominent, talented lay people, helps promote the understanding that their is meaningful openness developing.
Now the Pope is calling for dirty money to take their business elsewhere. By publicly coming out with this stance, the Holy Father is doing more to devolve that closed door feel to the universal church. This Catholic spreads a consistent message of who comes first. It’s the poor. By telling the dirty money to stay away, he is telling the oppressed that their backs won’t be used to prop up the organization founded to spread the good news.
This isn’t transparency per se. It is a direct statement to those in opposition to the mission of the church, but the more important message is to those within the church. We don’t need them, we have God. We are open to what is good and will fight to keep evil at bay. The poor and the just, that is our Church. The organization of the church should support that message (the Good News). That is marketing. Marketing is evangelization. Like all great CEOs, he is the organization’s chief sales officer.
Pope Francis is remarkable. He is a force for good (all due respect to the U.S. Navy). He is always “on message”. He never shies away from what is right. He is effective. The world needs more CEOs like Pope Francis.
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