He's from South America, he's a Jesuit, he chose the name of St. Francis and he's a moral traditionalist. What's not to love?
As I awaited the choice, my dread was that they would pick someone who was more "in tune with the times." As someone who believes the Church defends eternal truths, change in moral standards is unwelcome. Moral fashions come and go. One of the most important roles of the Church in the world is to provide a permanent set of standards. If the Church wavered, it would be as if the Earth was spinning off its axis.
On Twitter, when he was announced, there was this wave of fear because he was a Jesuit. They've earned a reputation as a bunch of loose cannons. Not all of them, but enough to make the reputation justified. Instead, Pope Francis seems to combine the best aspect of the Jesuits - learning and deep thought - with the traditionalism of the Church.
I'm happy. God bless Pope Francis.
Updates: Here's an excellent take on the new pope from a blogging priest.
Here's the pope's speech in English.
He sounds like a good choice, then. I'm not Catholic, but I know that a in-tune-with-the-times pope would be catastrophic.
ReplyDelete