Hip-hop music and Pope Francis have a lot more in common than many might think, a point that was made poignantly, and sometimes not so poignantly, clear this week with #PopeBars.
Last week, Pope Francis traveled to Africa on a six-day tour that included stops in Uganda, Central African Republic and Kenya. He spoke with local leaders, bishops and fellow Catholics on issues like corruption, tribalism and poverty. During his closing Mass, Francis reminded his audience to have the “need to be full of hope and enthusiasm for the future.”
What has seemed to resonate most deeply with people all over social media, however, is the photograph snapped by Gianluigi Guercia for Agence France-Presse. Guercia took a picture of Francis as he addressed a displacement camp in C.A.R. The picture has since gone viral and led to the creation of #PopeBars.
Examples found under the tag:
My beats are righteous / My lyrics Jesuitical Even Protestants go Roman / When I drop my next encyclical #PopeBarspic.twitter.com/Mbtf93QsMF
— peter manseau (@petermanseau) November 30, 2015
"I murder these bars like Cain did to Abel. Better call me Charlie cause I'm surrounded by angels" #PopeBarspic.twitter.com/vd2sOi7Mzi
— Just Sayin, I Tried (@thvpelo) November 30, 2015
thoughts on God? - real fav prayer position? - kneel shuffle the cards - deal, body of Christ - meal #PopeBarspic.twitter.com/4ENr2OsG9K
— Chris Melberger (@chrismelberger) December 1, 2015
Even America editors spit some lyrics:
Blow doors open wide for the jubilee mow doubters down with Laudato Si... #PopeBarspic.twitter.com/GMpr1Jx45w
— Kevin Clarke (@ClarkeatAmerica) November 30, 2015
Yo I'm from Buenos Aires, and ain't afraid to bust something. So what cha want sinner?! #PopeBars#BIG#methodmanpic.twitter.com/gfKppN5wkW
— Olga Marina Segura (@Olga_M_Segura) December 1, 2015
However, what’s most significant about #PopeBars, as Brendan Busse, S.J., of The Jesuit Post stated on Twitter, “is how much evidence you see that people actually understand [Pope Francis’s] core teachings.”
This is the power of #PopeBars; it is the Francis effect, in action. We are watching as people inside and outside of the church interpret and discuss the pope’s teachings: on the poor, “I told y’all I came to afflict the greedy/ don’t be so shocked when I roll out services for the needy”; the Bible, “God had a mixtape he named it the Bible, Jesus had a rap crew called it the disciples”; to Jesus, “birthdays was the worst days now I sip Christ’s blood when I’m thirst-ay.”
Pope Francis calls on us to help those who are suffering in our world. From those crossing borders to escape war-torn countries to those deprived of access to education, Francis reminds us that we must care for one another, for “indifference is dangerous, whether innocent or not.” And like Pope Francis, hip-hop for many is an outlet where one can address issues of injustice, mercy, love and so on. It is, as I have written before, a place for many of the most marginalized in our society.
#PopeBars demonstrates how social media hashtags can be more than just frivolous fun. It can be a moment of true dialogue and reflection.
