Pope Francis: Human, Not Hero
Connor Strange
Co-Editor-in-Chief
High praise has been sung like hymns for the year Pope Francis has held the papacy. He’s a very charismatic Pope, in stark contrast to Pope Benedict XVI (often likened to Emperor Palpatine of the Star Wars films).
Though Benedict didn’t shoot lightning or bring people to the dark side, he wasn’t the most well-received leader of the Catholic church.
With Francis on the forefront, the Vatican has received a publicly-applauded facelift. It’s addressing the morality of previously-avoided issues (gay marriage and relationships being the most topical) and trying to consider them rationally under his leadership
Though Francis has done a lot to make the church more worldly and exemplary of the Bible’s charitable and loving morals, the praise for him might just be a little too much.
What Francis is doing is being an rational human being where the previous Pope was overbearingly conservative and a notorious Sith Lord. Well maybe he just looked like one. It’s excellent that the Church has moved on up in public relations department, but talking vaguely about hot-button issues and making sweeping statements about intricate issues doesn’t make Francis a hero - it just makes him more relatable and accepting than we’re used to seeing from the Catholic priesthood (and he doesn’t try to kill people with the Force).
However, not all of the priesthood is in Francis’ radical boat. While much of the world looks upon his changes to form as a good thing, some conservative Catholics aren’t too cheery about his tolerant disposition. One Australian Cardinal even went as far to slyly suggest that Francis may be a “false pope”. He named the new Bishop of Rome as the 266th, but also stated that there had been 37 false popes in the margins of the homily.
Despite this adversity from members within the Church, Francis continues to speak freely and loudly. He’s made sure to issue one of these broad, almost obvious statements at every convenience.
They are things like admitting that atheists and gays are people or defending the care of the poor. They’re things that any rational adult should’ve concluded long before it was uttered by the Pope.
Upon Francis’ induction into his papal title, he sent Vatican employee bonuses to charity, stressing again his views in favor of everyone doing their part to assist the poor. He defended this viewpoint by saying, “Caring for the poor does not make you a communist.”
He’s advocated for the inclusion of homosexuals in the Church, and even gone as far to admit that their relationships could be loving. That’s right, the Pope admitted that people were people! The sarcasm comes from frustration that such an event didn’t happen long before Francis’ turn at the papacy.
Even atheists aren’t safe from Francis’ bombardment of tolerance. He was quoted in saying that atheists could be good people if they did good things. Not a new sentiment to Christianity, but one forgotten over the years by the Church: a good person is a good person, even if they’re not a member of the same faith.
Francis went on to back that claim by washing the feet of Muslims as well as women and the disabled. He did a whole lot of feet-washing for a wide range of people who weren’t exactly best buds with the Church under Benedict.
It’s a little like he’s working to catch up on being decent for all the time the Church spent not doing just that. He’s putting the Vatican’s morals into high gear and chasing down modern society in the last lap of some metaphorical F1 race.
There’s no doubt he should be applauded for doing what he’s done so far. But make no mistake, Francis is just a freethinker where other members of the Vatican are too uptight and conservative to change. He’s not a hero. On the other hand, he’s made progress, and the Vicar of Christ is working to find a balance in faith and fairness
