opinion

Prophetic Voices: Pope Francis and Bernie Sanders

As a student of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), one of the most creative Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, I often speak of him as a modern-day prophet. Heschel was not only a scholar, but also a tireless activist. For the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Heschel was “one of the truly great men of our day and age . . . indeed a truly great prophet.”

People sometimes ask me “Are there any prophetic voices today?” Two people come to mind: Pope Francis and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate. But how do we define a prophet?

What stands out for me about the classical prophets is their passion for social justice and their deep sensitivity to injustice. They are appalled by human greed and can never adjust to it. More than anything else, they are outraged by the “monstrosity of inequality.” This is precisely the message of Sanders, as well as of Pope Francis, who are deeply committed to bring healing to the world, especially to the poor.

Pope Francis and Sanders speak with authenticity about the injustice of income inequality and the catastrophic agonies of climate change, especially for the poorest people of the world. On these and many other critical issues, Pope Francis and Sanders speak with great passion and indignation. It is not surprising then that so many people have been attracted to supporting Sanders' candidacy for president.

Sanders has expressed appreciation to Republican leadership for inviting the pope to address a special joint session of Congress this fall, adding that he hopes they listen to what the pope has to say. Sanders, who describes Pope Francis as “a miracle for humanity” regularly shares quotes from the pope on social media — powerful and profound messages on many critical issues.

It is remarkable that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Catholic pope from Argentina, and Bernie Sanders, the Jewish senator from Vermont who was born in Brooklyn, hold views with such strong affinity as to what we need to do to heal the world. But I am not surprised.

Although Sanders himself does not view religion as a central part of his life, to me, he is a man of religion. Sanders has stated, “I’m proud to be Jewish, although I’m not particularly religious.” Religion is notoriously difficult to define and need not be defined as a system of belief.

I embrace the definition of religion of my great teacher Maurice Friedman, who said, “Religion is the way that one walks.” In accordance with this definition, I contend the lives of human beings and the actions they perform each day are of greater significance than their belief systems. And from that perspective, Sanders is indeed a very religious person.

Looking at all the presidential candidates who are running in the 2016 election, all but Sanders are Christian and many of them are Catholic. I find it ironic that the one whose views have the greatest affinity with Pope Francis on many issues is Sanders.

In a July 12 interview on "Face the Nation," Sanders concluded with the following words with which Pope Francis would certainly concur: “Money cannot be the God of life . . . We’ve got to come together to create a new world and not a world in which a handful of people have so much wealth and so many other people are suffering.”

HAROLD KASIMOW is emeritus George A. Drake Professor of Religious Studies at Grinnell College. Contact: kasimow@grinnell.edu