THIS is an exciting time to be Catholic, especially for those who have had doubts and questions about the Catholic Church’s relevance in their spiritual and faithful journey.
After the resignation of Pope Benedict a few months ago, the emergence of Pope Francis as the new leader of the Catholic Church has been a defining moment for many of them.
When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the new pope, he chose the name “Francis” as his papal name to honor the 12th century saint, who was known for his simple lifestyle, austerity and dedication to the works of mercy.
Indeed, Pope Francis has always lived the prayer of St. Francis — as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as Archbishop of Argentina, and now as the head of the Vatican.
As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis (as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio), moved out of the mansion owned by his diocese and chose to live in a small apartment. He took the bus to work, washed his own clothes and lived the life of an ordinary person.
As Pope Francis, he broke Vatican tradition when he decided not to live in the apostolic apartments. On first seeing the papal apartment after he was elected, the 76-year-old pope reportedly exclaimed: “But there is room here for 300 people!”
He chose to remain in Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican residence which accommodates visiting clergy and lay people and where he stayed with his fellow cardinals during the conclave.
He rode with other cardinals in buses, paid for his own bills, carried his own bags when he traveled, and reportedly told a friend that he likes daily contact with ordinary people.
Pope Francis has always been dedicated to loving and serving the poor, the sick and the marginalized — including gays and lesbians.
As CNN reported, Pope Francis said on Monday that he will not “judge” gays and lesbians (including gay priests), showing another sign that the new pope is committed to changing the church’s approach to historically marginalized groups.
Gay people should be integrated in society instead of being ostracized, Pope Francis candidly said, during an extraordinary 82-minute exchange with reporters aboard the papal plane.
“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” the pope asked, answering a question about reports on homosexuals in the clergy.
The role of women in the Catholic Church was likewise discussed with reporters. While upholding the Church’s decision not to ordain women as priests, Pope Francis said that the question on the role and importance of women in the Catholic Church has not yet been answered fully.
“It is not enough to have altar girls, women readers or women as the president of Caritas,” he said, according to the Catholic Herald. “Women in the church are more important than bishops and priests,” he said, in the same way that “Mary is more important than the apostles.”
Pope Francis’ message and example of inclusiveness and unity has also touched many people around the world, when two months since he was elected, he said in a homily that all human beings can be redeemed, even the atheists and those of other faith/religion.
As National Public Radio (NPR) reported, in a passage inspired by the Gospel of Mark, Pope Francis said:
“The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class. We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all. And we all have a duty to do good.“
“And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: We need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: We will meet one another there.”
NPR also reported that other issues that Pope Francis has been focusing on are poverty and economic injustice, quoting a series of strong statements he delivered:
“Unbridled capitalism has taught us the logic of profit at all costs, of exploitation without regard to persons,” he said in one speech.
He fiercely criticized the “cult of money” and said the origin of the global financial crisis was the lack of “person-centered ethics in the world of finance and economics.”
Pope Francis also noted that “if investments in the banks fall a bit, [it’s a] tragedy…. but if people die of hunger, if they don’t have enough to eat or aren’t well, it doesn’t matter.”
Before Pope Francis was elected, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said in an interview that the next pope should be “a man who reminds you of Jesus. Now every Christian is supposed to do that, OK, but in a particularly radiant and personal way, the pope is supposed to remind us of Jesus. We call him the vicar of Christ.”
Indeed, Pope Francis has been spreading the Gospel of Jesus, not by self-righteous elitist preaching and pontification, but by living God’s commandment to love all people — to respect each human being’s dignity no matter what race, religion, economic status, and sexual orientation.
This, to me, is the most powerful way to make people realize how the Church can still be relevant and instrumental to their spiritual journey.
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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
