Pope Francis’ surprise videotaped TED Talk on Tuesday night had many memorable lines, perhaps none more so than his call for a “revolution of tenderness.” He suggested that the conference’s tech leaders, investors, journalists and academics consider “how wonderful would it be, while we discover faraway planets, to rediscover the needs of the brothers and sisters orbiting around us.”
And he issued a warning, not only for the influential folks in the room but also the politicians and leaders in power around the world: “Please, allow me to say it loud and clear,” the pontiff said deliberately. “The more powerful you are, the more your actions will have an impact on people, the more responsible you are to act humbly. If you don’t, your power will ruin you, and you will ruin the other.”
Yet for all the notable lines in the nearly 18-minute remarks, what he did at the end of the talk may have been even more powerful. As he finished, Francis served up a reminder of what humble leadership looks like. “And so, please, think of me as well with tenderness,” he said to those in the audience, “so that I can fulfill the task I have been given, for the good of the other, of each and every one, of all of you.”
In case you missed it, here is the most powerful man in the Catholic Church, humbly asking a bunch of TED conference attendees to keep him in their thoughts, seeking their help as he goes about his work.
