Ever since he was appointed, Pope Francis has not been afraid of taking issues head-on, a reality that has increased his number of enthusiasts, and created him a number of opponents, both within and outside of the Vatican.
As of April 29, 2021, Pope Francis has established yet again a new anti-corruption law in the Vatican, which declares that employees within the church will not be allowed to receive any work-related gift that exceeds the value of 40 €. The declaration aim is to decrease the number of lavish gifts that the Vatican employees are so often used to receive, and therefore maintain a certain degree of humbleness within the church walls. Pope Francis had previously made reforms within the Vatican, like removing procedural obstacles of the Vatican’s criminal tribunal to allow the prosecution of bishops and cardinals, and keeping a financial and criminal record of the Vatican superiors to ensure that no legal or corrupted activity occurs in the church. He has also reformed the Curia, or Vatican bureaucracy, and dealt with the appalling legacy of child sex abuse within the Church. He even stated the importance of making everyone equal under the law. Pope Francis, who is currently the 266th elected pope, has gradually been in the public eye for advocating social justice, non-discrimination, climate change, social issues, and sexual ethics. We can wonder: What makes Pope Francis stand out? How did he notice the wrongdoings while many others turned a blind eye to it? How did he achieve so much change in the Catholic Church, where many others have failed or undermined its importance? To answer the following questions, we must dig deeper to try and understand what made Pope Francis the person he is today.
A Man of Humble Beginnings
Pope Francis has held a number of firsts with his election: First pope from South America, first from the Southern Hemisphere, first to take on the name Francis, and most importantly, first pope from the Jesuit order. His real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936. He is one of the five children of an Italian immigrant rail worker and wife. After recovering from a severe illness that almost killed him, Bergoglio felt called to the church and subsequently joined the Jesuit order in 1958 as a novice. However, he only officially became a Jesuit in 1960, after making the initial religious vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience of the order. In 1973, he became a supervisor of the Jesuit province of Argentina. He studied humanities, received a degree in philosophy and theology, and taught literature and philosophy in high schools. In 1998, he became archbishop of Buenos Aires. At the time, Bergoglio was renowned for his humility: he chose to live in a simple apartment instead of living in the archbishop’s residence, and opted for public transportation instead of limousines. He also advocated for the poor and highlighted the church’s role in tackling social issues.
A Jesuit Becomes a Pope
On March 13, 2013, Bergoglio shocked the world when he became the first-ever elected Jesuit pope. He chose the name Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, and of Jesuit co-founder St. Francis Xavier, a priest who devoted his life to serve the poor. Pope Francis’s election is significant to the Jesuits, in a sense that St. Ignatius, founder turned priest of the Jesuit order, told his followers not to pursue high clerical office in the church to prevent careerism among Jesuits. However, Pope Francis’s papacy is a living proof that power does not always lead to loss of humility. Following his election, he still prefers simple tunics over lavish traditional papal finery. He has also chosen to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors. Pope Francis has thanked the Jesuit order for having taught him the value of humility.
Pope Francis’s Way of Doing
Besides his humility, Pope Francis’s ruling is rooted in two crucial Jesuit principles: Discernment and Liberation Theology. Discernment is the ability to have good judgment of the situations around us. When it comes to the Catholic moral theology, discernment is denoted as what is permitted, what is transformative, and what is forbidden. To tackle the forbidden is to cross the permitted. In other words, what is forbidden should not be discerned. From there, the challenge in the Catholic Church is to discern what has always been forbidden and making it permissible. For example, Pope Francis has discerned many forbidden matters within social issues and sexual ethics, like gay marriage and abortion. Discerning the forbidden is a revolutionary step and a key element for change. Furthermore, Pope Francis has also demonstrated deep attachment to Liberation Theology, whose aim is to address social injustice and poverty. He addresses poverty as “the treasure of the church” and makes sure that 90% of the donations made to the Vatican go to the poor. In addition, he has addressed matters of social injustice, both inside and outside the Vatican. Besides passing laws and reforms to decrease corruption and bureaucracy within the Vatican, Pope Francis has also deeply defended minorities and marginalized people, like Christian minorities In Iraq and the LGBTQ community. He has also shown deep care for nature and has advocated climate change reforms.
Pope Francis also believes that we should never stop: “finding new ways to spread the word of God to every corner of the world,” not just through our words, but also through our actions. After all, a Jesuit, like all people, knows that: “Love is shown more in deeds than in words.” -St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Vanessa Kallas
L4