CATHOLICS all over the world celebrate Holy Week with a new pope: His Eminence, Pope Francis I.
Chosen by a conclave of 115 cardinals on March 13, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, a 76-year old Jesuit priest from Argentina, is now the leader of more than 1.2 billion Catholics in the world.
He has made history not only as the first Pope who did not come from Europe, the first pope from South America, the first pope from the Jesuit order.
His leadership and lifestyle in Buenos Aires have been the prescience of Pope Francis’ behavior during the early days of his papacy.
In Argentina, then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio moved out of the mansion owned by his diocese. Instead, he chose to live in a small apartment, took the bus to work, washed his own clothes, lived the life of ordinary people. He was known to have deep concern and love for the poor.
Even after being chosen as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis still lives up to his reputation, being humble and of the people.
The night he was elected as the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis surprised and impressed many Catholics and non-Catholics alike with his non-traditional behavior as Pope.
He reportedly did not sit on the traditional throne, to accept the oaths of allegiance from the cardinals after his election. He also refused to ride in a private car back to the Santa Marta Residence that night, choosing instead to ride the bus with the cardinals who elected him. He also personally paid his own hotel bills.
He shook hands with people, mingled with the crowd who came to pray in Saint Peter’s Basilica. He still is, as he was then — loved and respected as the ‘pope for the people.’
During his installation mass in the Vatican on March 19, Pope Francis urged the princes, presidents, sheiks and thousands of ordinary people in attendance, to protect the environment, the weakest and the poorest and to let tenderness “open up a horizon of hope.”
As the Associated Press reported, Pope Francis professed that his role as the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is to open his arms and protect all of humanity, but “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison.”
“Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others,” Pope Francis said. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds.”
Many Catholics around the world, especially among Filipinos, look up to Saint Francis with so much hope and expectations. They pray that he will really bring the much needed reform in the Church that has been beleaguered with the perception of being out-of-touch with the real world, sex scandals and accusations of corruption.
True to the Jesuits’ open-mindedness, inclusive and progressive image, recollection of his past statements and decisions may show signs of hope that his leadership may indeed lead the Church to a new and brighter direction.
While archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was one of the leaders of the Catholic Church who made a public charge against legalizing same-sex marriage in Argentina. Pope Francis’ reported willingness behind-the-scenes then to accept civil unions as a compromise may offer new insight into how he will lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
NBC News reported that Pope Francis suggested in an interview last year that the Catholic Church’s rule on celibacy of priests “can change.” He admitted that he was tempted by a woman as a young seminarian.
Pope Francis reportedly said that the married clergy of the Eastern churches are “very good priests” and those pushing for the same in Roman Catholicism do so “with a certain pragmatism.”
Many Catholics also believe that Bergoglio’s choice of the papal name Francis (in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi) could be an indicator of what the Pope will prioritize as the leader of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis has lived the prayer of Saint Francis and followed his example of simple living, austerity, and service to the poor. Many Catholics hope the Catholic Church under Pope Francis will take the same direction.
As the website on St. Francis of Assisi reported: While praying at the Church of San Damiano, he heard Christ speak to him saying, “Francis, repair my church.”
In order to fulfill this request, he sold some of his father’s goods. This angered his father greatly and he took Pope Francis to see the local bishop. Francis threw off his rich clothes in the presence of the bishop and revealed that he was wearing a shirt made of hair.
The bishop, upon seeing this, covered him with his own cloak as a sign of accepting him into the religious life.
After this, his father disowned and disinherited Francis.
Francis then went back to San Damiano and rebuilt the church with his own hands. He did not realize that God did not mean the church at San Damiano to be rebuilt. Rather, he referred to the universal church, which was suffering from inside scandal and avarice, as well as outside heresies.
Now that we have a Pope who chose to honor St. Francis, we hope he will confront and solve the problem of the Catholic Church in our time. We pray Pope Francis can “repair the Catholic Church.”
HAPPY EASTER to us all and cheers to a new beginning in the Catholic Church!
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
