Why has no pope ever taken the name Francis before? The most beloved of Christian saints, Francis of Assisi, was also one of the most radical. The 13th-century cleric’s embrace of the poor was a resounding repudiation of church decadence. Before he was named pope Wednesday, the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was already known for his simplicity, attachment to the poor, and resistance to the princely trappings of his high position. And in dedicating his pontificate to St. Francis, Bergoglio signaled the kind of pope he aims to be. That, at least, was a welcome sign, for the scandals that have wracked the church in recent years reveal a crisis at its core.
St. Francis’s life speaks to a capacity within the church for reform. His demands foreshadowed the challenge that Martin Luther posed 300 years later. Church leaders could well have condemned Francis as a heretic. Instead, his impulse was enshrined in the name of the Franciscans. Known for their pious devotedness and works of mercy, they are one of the church’s two greatest religious orders.
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A reformer who has a record of conservative church teaching?
Why is there the assumption that he chose the name based on Saint Francis of Assisi? Saint Francis Xavier, one of the first and most known Jesuits who studied under Saint Ignatius, was a major missionary and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus.
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I was hoping O'Malley would get it and choose Big Papi. No knock on the the guy they chose but why does it always seem like they choose someone that will be meeting God in the not too distant future rather than a younger man? I wish him well in healing the wrongs that have gone in the church.
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First let me say while some may use ancient history to knock the Jesuits I have known many Jesuits over the years and have found them to be inquisitive most of them extremely intelligent and I have always admired the Jesuit approach to education. While I have no great affection for any form of formalized religion it does not mean it cannot serve a useful purpose. The RCC is a perfect example of the human condition. One foot in the real world another in the mystical, one drive to do good, the other steeped in corruption. Perhaps the particular Pope will be more public, perhaps listened to more when it comes to the condition of the poor. Benedict while a bit of a bore did indeed address the issue of the poor but was basically ignored by the press. Perhaps the new pope will be able to articulate in a more forceful fashion the plight and cause of the poor, although almost any attempt to alleviate the condition of the poor gets lumped into a cry that the individual whether pope or person is a socialist.
The new pope's personal awareness of the conditions in latin america may lead him to become a stronger advocate of the dispossesed and the economically deprived. For after all it is this argument over what and who the poor are and what brings them to this state that is at the core of one of mankinds final ethical and moral conflicts. This pope has the opportunity to depoliticize the issue and focus on it for what it is, a failure to bring into reality that which so many profess on sunday, the desire to do right by their fellow man.
When Albino Luciani chose the name John Paul I he cited his inspiration by his two predecessors and his few statements implied he wished to continue the reforming spirit ignited by John XXIII and Vatican 2. John Paul II, on the other hand, seemed very much to be dedicated to reversing Vatican 2. I often wondered whether Pius XIII might have been a more suitable choice of name in his case. Thus, that we now have Francis I is no guarantee that his motivation is reform.
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If as "kitch" says there is no hope for reform, then it matters little what generation steps forward. If there is no hope for reform of the RCC then there is no hope for reform of man. There is either always hope or there is no hope, I prefer the latter, although there are those that say "faith" is merely a word for "hope".