[Dialogue] POPE LEO & IRON BOY: Top-10 Synchronicities

Sat May 10 12:53:20 PDT 2025

David, what is your nickname on Substack? There are a lot of David
Marshall’s showing up in a search.

--
Jo Nelson, CPF, CTF  <jo.r.nelson at gmail.com>
647 233 6910

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  Margaret Mead

On Sat, May 10, 2025 at 3:39 PM David Marshall via Dialogue <
dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Order, EI, & ICA former colleagues,
>
> I recently joined Substack to provide more long-form content for my family
> communication books, including my upcoming memoir IRON BOY, and posted this
> 2-page article yesterday. I noticed some of you are on Substack as well,
> but for those who aren't, I'm providing a copy below.
>
> Title: POPE LEO & IRON BOY: Top-10 Synchronicities
> Subtitle:Bringing Light to World’s “Dark Night”
>
> [image: image.png]
>
> Growing up ecumenical, I was exposed to a lot more Catholicism than the
> average Protestant boy in America, even though my family was officially
> Methodist. I studied Saint Teresa, Saint Augustine, and Saint Francis as a
> teenager, and attended Catholic mass from different Religious Houses around
> the world. Our 30-minute Daily Office service each dawn was full of
> Episcopalian liturgy, which has similarities to Catholic services.
>
> So when Pope Leo was selected by the cardinals in the Vatican this week, I
> naturally noticed the parallels between Pope Leo and *Iron Boy*,
> including our global debuts just weeks a part this spring, although mine
> pales by comparison.
>
> Connections abound:
>
> 1.       CHICAGO - Our formative years were both in Chicago in the 1960s
> and 1970s, Pope Leo on the South Side, and Iron Boy on the West Side.
>
> 2.       ORDERS - We both lived monastic lives, Pope Leo in an Augustine
> Order for priests and Iron Boy in an Ecumenical Family Order (Protestants,
> Catholics, Jews, and other faiths). We both practiced our own versions of
> poverty, chastity, and obedience.
>
> 3.       CULTS – Some agnostics and atheists say the Catholic Church is
> one of the largest cults on the planet. Others say the Order Ecumenical I
> grew up in was a cult as well. People must judge for themselves. What is a
> “cult” anyway? Cult survivors recount a sense of belonging and intense
> community, but also of being taught they are holier than others; believing
> the cult leader is “all knowing;” giving up their own freedom to “group
> think;” forced to tolerate leader unaccountability for misdeeds; feeling
> afraid to leave; and ultimately being ostracized by remaining members after
> departure. I experienced many of these feelings as well.
>
> 4.       REFORM - We are both committed to Christian renewal, extending
> the reforms started by Pope Francis in Pope Leo’s case, and in spreading
> the good news about demythologized theology in Iron Boy’s case. My platform
> is admittedly quite small compared to Pope Leo’s.
>
> 5.       GLOBALISTS - We have lived on multiple continents and speak
> several languages.
>
> 6.       PERU - We both lived in Peru as adults, arriving in the 1980s,
> and had family and missional work in this Latin American country. After my
> mom left the Order, she lived in Peru for six years with her second
> husband, and they supported the ICA rural development program in Azpitia,
> Peru.
>
> 7.       AGE - We are contemporaries, at 69 years old.
>
> 8.       ABUSE - Both our respective Orders were accused of preying on
> children, and had to make hard decisions about what to do about it, with
> not great results.
>
> 9.       LEO - Pope Leo was known as Robert Prevost until this week, but
> will go down in history as Pope Leo XIV. The Associated Press reported this
> week that “In naming himself Leo, the new pope could also have wanted to
> signal a strong line of continuity: Brother Leo was the 13th century
> friar who was a great companion to St. Francis of Assisi, the late pope’s
> namesake.” For Iron Boy, Leo was a mythical figure in a study book *Journey
> to the East* by Herman Hesse in an Order course called “The Odyssey,”
> which I recount taking in Malaysia in my upcoming book.
>
> 10.   SERVANT LEADERSHIP - The “Leo” figure in *Journey to the East* is
> often associated with the more secular Servant Leadership movement led by
> Robert Greenleaf starting in the 1970s and in later years by Ken Blanchard
> and other exemplars. I had the pleasure of publishing a number of Ken
> Blanchard’s Servant Leadership books when I worked at Berrett-Koehler
> Publishers during the last two decades.
>
> From Google AI on the last two points:
>
> “In Hermann Hesse's *Journey to the East*, Leo is initially presented as
> a simple, unassuming servant, but his disappearance triggers the group's
> disintegration. He is revealed to be the President of the League, a figure
> who embodies the essence of servant leadership and the unifying force of
> the group. His absence exposes the fragility of the League's ideals and the
> lack of true commitment among its members.
>
> “Here's a more detailed look at Leo's role:
>
>    - “*Symbol of Servant Leadership*: Leo is described as a quiet,
>    supportive, and beloved member of the group, readily helping others and
>    showing a natural affinity with animals. This aligns with the concept of
>    servant leadership, where leaders prioritize the needs of their followers.
>    - “*Unifying Presence*: Leo's presence, though unassuming, provides a
>    sense of stability and purpose for the group. His disappearance leads to
>    confusion, anxiety, and bickering among the members.
>    - “*Hidden Leadership:* It's revealed that Leo is not just a servant
>    but the President of the League. This highlights the paradox that true
>    leadership can manifest in humility and service.
>    - “*Test of Faithfulness:* Leo's disappearance is a deliberate act, a
>    test of the group's commitment to the journey's core values. The group's
>    inability to persevere without him exposes their lack of faith and their
>    internal struggles.
>    - “*Symbol of Inner Peace:* The journey to the East, and Leo's role
>    within it, can be interpreted as a metaphor for the search for inner peace
>    and spiritual enlightenment. Leo's quiet service and the animals' love for
>    him suggest a connection to a higher, more natural order.”
>
>
>
> I wish Pope Leo the best in serving as a bridge to warring factions in the
> world and among his own flock, and in holding himself and other Catholic
> Church leaders accountable for their past and present failings in not
> protecting the children.
>
> “Peace be with you,” (Pope Leo to world on first day of papacy) and “Grace
> and peace,” (Order Ecumenical salutation).
>
> ***
>
> I'm probably going to use some version of this for my Sunday Housechuch
> Countdown #5 post tomorrow. If you want to see the previous five countdown
> post as part of my IRON BOY book launch, you can find them on my Marshall
> Books blog <https://marshallbooks.wordpress.com/>.
>
> David Marshall, Moraga, California
>
>
>
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> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net
>
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