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New direction

3 min read

Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was chosen to become Pope Francis amid a flurry of “firsts” Wednesday. The first pope from South America. The first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years. The first Jesuit, and the first to take his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.

Known for his theological excellence and grasp of doctrine, Bergoglio seemed to exude the humility for which he is known as he acknowledged the adulation of a large crowd at the Vatican. He takes over at a critical time for the church, for its faithful and for the church’s role in the world. As the anecdotal information about his life becomes known — his simple beginnings in Argentina, his preference for public transportation over limousines, his desire to prepare his own meals in a modest Vatican apartment — it will be some time, probably, before we know whether Francis will follow the steps of Benedict XVI and John Paul II, or blaze his own trail. While many had speculated that the cardinals would select someone younger, at 76 Francis is just two years younger than Benedict at his election.

Catholics and non-Catholics want to know: Is the new pope up to the internal and external challenges facing the church? Certainly the choice of an Argentine reflects the growth of the church in South America, as membership has declined in Europe and North America.

If Francis is to succeed, he must be an active overseer of the Curia as well as the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion followers. The Vatican desperately needs to address not just the injustices visited upon children in the expanding clerical abuse scandal, but the church’s own reluctance to acknowledge its scope and its delayed response. The church’s central administration has been subject to internecine struggle, with reports of infighting and scandal at the Vatican Bank. The leaking of Benedict’s personal letters by his former butler was something unfathomable just a few years ago.

Then there’s the tug-of-war between the church’s teachings and modernity — including the role of women, the loss of priests, policies on birth control — a conflict recent popes have addressed by reaffirming long-held doctrine, rather than considering reform. As much as that is a matter for Catholics, the pope’s influence as a world leader goes well beyond the church. The ability of the church to care for the poor, to stand up for religious freedom, to combat social injustice, to speak truth to corrupt regimes around the world — these are principles all people can, and should, unite behind. We see these battles re-emerging in attacks on Catholics, and Christians in general, in Africa and the Middle East.

More so than any time in recent memory, the pope must demonstrate that the church has its own house in order. The centralization of power in the Vatican has worked to solidify the loyalty of bishops and adherence to doctrine — and, some allege, a stifling of dissenting opinion. As a Jesuit, Francis might bring a different tone of leadership to the Holy See, and we wish him success. The challenges are many.

Lehigh Valley Times Express

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