Francis, the namesake of the recently elected pope, lived in the thirteenth century and created a movement and a religious order which grew like wildfire. It called on its members to emulate its founder, living in radical simplicity, caring for the poor, respecting all creatures. The legends tell us that Francis would do yucky, saintly things like kissing lepers. He negotiated with a wolf to protect a village --it could happen! Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment. In some respects Francis was anti-establishment, far from the hierarchical model of the Roman Catholic church. But he wasn't antagonistic, and after his death he was canonized with unprecedented speed.
Francis the pope, the first with this adopted name, is a cleric friom Argentina whose life of simplicity and concern for the poor is well documented. He is part of the establishment, but his election is unprecedented in that he is from the Americas and from the global south. Even after his election he chose to ride the bus back to the hotel and he paid his bill.
Francis certainly follows the doctrine of the church on women's ordination, abortion, and homosexuality, so there will be no revolutionary change under this pope. And he is an old man. At seventy six is is more than thirty years older than Saint Francis was at the time of his death. Surely those cardinals could have given consideration to the reasons Benedict resigned in the first place. Francis will also need to address the ongoing tragedy of sexual abuse in the church.
What is your reaction to the election of Francis. Same-old, same-old, or hopeful? Don't care?
6 comments:
Much has been made about the perceived change in tack this pope has already been instituting, and much of the press is genuinely excited and refreshed by early signals he seems to be sending.
That said, I think that until the Church finds a way to deal with the abuse issue once and for all, it's not going to matter who's at the helm. For the Church to heal and grow, they have to find a way to make amends and put the issue behind them.
Our own denomination has shown that women clergy and gays in full membership, as well as in positions of authority in the Church can be such a positive thing ... Many rich spiritual gifts can be - and have been - demonstrated and shared, and much compassion shown; to refuse to acknowledge this is to refuse to accept the variety of gifts in the Body of Christ, and to consider those who are different from the "mainstream" to be children of a lesser god (even though science has shown this is not a choice, but the way they are wired, just as much as engineers are gifted with mathematical and mechanical genius, and artists and musicians are gifted in their passions... how can we do this? We Christians seem to love to judge harshly anyone who is not just like us... sad !
Also, the requirement for celibacy in the Roman Church's clergy invites abuse! How can the Catholic Church ... or any other denomination ... survive if they refuse to deal with this reality?
Gimme an "AMEN!" for both Judy and Ian's comments.
To me, it's same old, same old AND don't care.
I've lost count of the things that make me shake my head, but how about the abuse issue and treating women as equals for starters? Put Pope Roger in to clean house!
don't care...
I definitely agree. Discrimination still seems to be a huge hurdle in the Catholic church as every other religion seems to be embracing people as people and choices as their own.
Also, even the closest branch of Catholicism, the Anglican church has embraced women ministers (ie/ my aunt) and do not require celibacy; at least I'll assume as much since I have an uncle and 2 cousins.
I'm with Judy, celibacy breeds abuse, humans are sexual by primal instinct and to deter people from engaging in any activity makes the urges and need fester and come out in vastly unusual ways.
Contraception is another strange value Catholics are holding on to. What do they believe in, the rhythm method??
I do care about who the pope is but they need a drastic change to survive and move forward. It's not going to happen with Fracis.
I don't think Francis is the ultimate answer to what ails the largest Christian denomination on the planet, but he seems committed to making a difference in some significant areas. Let's pray for our RC brothers and sisters. Thanks for all your comments.
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