The cardinals in choosing for the third time in a row a man
from outside of Italy neatly solved the problem of asking the people of Rome to
accept another foreigner as their bishop by selecting a man born in South
America of immigrant Italian parents.
Francis the First, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio has always
been a promoter of justice and lover of the poor. Like St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis has
a radical commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at a time the
entire church was breathing in the fresh air of Vatican Council II. I have also experienced the stench of sin from
within the Church caused by my fellow priests. I hold both these realities in
my heart
When Pope Francis came out on the balcony of St. Peter’s
Basilica today, he did two things that made me sit up and take notice: First, he
appeared before the world dressed in a simple white cassock and zucchetto (the
beanie) without other trappings of authority, which he had the right to wear.
He wore no red cape trimmed in ermine and, of course, no crown. He simply stood there for a full two minutes
by himself in front of the immense crowd in St. Peter’s Square, by his action
saying: “Here I am. I am me, nothing
more.”
The second thing he did before he
gave his first blessing as Holy Father was to ask the crowd for a favor. He wanted a blessing from the thousands of
people in St. Peter’s Square. He bowed
profoundly and the people fell silent and prayed for him. Only then did he offer his blessings to the
city of Rome and the world.
I think we need this
pope with a holy soul and a reforming heart.
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