1.2 Billion Catholic Christians from across the globe can rejoice now ,for they have a new
pope, Pope Francis, formerly, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina,
however of Italian origin. It is almost 1400 years that a Pope came from outside
Europe. The 266th Pope of Vatican who is 76 years old has not been
in the contention and had his return ticket booked to come back to Argentina
for leading Easter mass. It is also a fact that the newspapers predicted more
chances for Cardinals from Italy, US and Brazil. So for all devout Christians,
Pope Francis, actually is a surprise package.
But as more news started coming out, it turns out that Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was destined to be the Pope. In the last election of
Pope, where the German Cardinal Ratzinger went on to become the Head of
Vatican, as Pope Benedict the 16th, the little muse tells that Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio ran close to him and eventually prayed to the congregation
of Cardinals then that his name be taken away from the contest. It is also a
fact that when he turned 75 he had offered to resign from Cardinal’s post and
the Papa had rejected his offer. In a way, one could call him a reluctant Pope.
Francis Pope came into priesthood little late but rose in
the hierarchy very fast. There is
another specialty about him as he came from the Jesuit order which is normally
overlooked when selection of Pope happens. He was truly committed to serve the
poor and had shunned the Cardinal’s palace in Argentina to stay in an ordinary
house and he took public transport to travel. No wonder when he was elected to be the Pope,
he took the name of Francis, taken from St. Francis of Assisi, the Saint who
always worked for the poor and the downtrodden. Some year’s back, Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio made history by washing the leg of 14 HIV patients in, prior
to the Easter celebrations.
There are many things unique to Francis pope. During his
childhood, due to health reasons, one of his lungs was removed and our Pope
therefore is one lunged. Francis Pope is
a person of great humour. During the first dinner after he was elected as the
Pope, he is said to quipped to the Cardinals, “Now that you had made the
mistake of electing me, you must bear the brunt”!
In his approach to Christianity, Francis Pope is said to be
a conservative. During the times when he was priest and Bishop, he was against
Gay marriage and abortion. There is school of thought in Argentina that he did
not fight for the lives of the young radicals who were disappearing from
Argentina when the Military was ruling Argentina. He also said not to have high
relations with the current Argentinean President, Christina. Argentina being a
devout Christian country; however that would now turn out to be the problem of Argentinean
President and not his.
It is generally believed that Pope Benedict the 16th
could not do much as the Pope due to the intense flux that the Catholics the
world was undergoing. Though he had cited health reasons to abdicate the throne,
this disillusionment also was said to be the reason for the former Pope to step
down, something that happened after 600 years of Pope-dom.
Everyone believes that Papacy is in transition. With the
world order undergoing rapid changes, and with people wanting inclusivity in
all walks of life, it should be the endeavor of the new pope to concentrate his
efforts for the upliftment of the poor. This is one message that the Francis
Pope had already taken to heart. His initial announcements to the world had been
“Church for the Poor” and therein lay the hope.
I am not a Christian and I am empathetic to all religions. I
would like to highlight a comment of my wife when I opened the newspaper that
day morning that carried the news of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio becoming
the Pope. Looking up at his foolscap
photo on the vernacular daily, she instantaneously said, “What a saintly looking
person”! That is something I readily concurred. Here is a Pope who in every sense
is very saintly. For someone who requests
when meeting people “pray for me”, now he has responsibility of praying and
working for one sixth of the world population. And that indeed is a tremendous responsibility
for the first pope from Latin America
.
By the way, what will happen to Mr. Francis Pope, an
investment banker of Toronto, Canada and Dr Francis Pope, an Atmospheric
Scientist from Birmingham University, UK? Someone had taken their name away. It
won’t be life as usual for them. Looking at their business cards, eyebrows will
get raised from now on and that is something these two gentlemen have to live
with, though it would be a pleasant experience for both.
