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Interesting that Pope Francis I opposed the Argentine government's efforts to legalize same sex marriage, eventually halting the enactment of that law. He is also a man who gave up his Cardinal mansion, chauffer and car to live in a simple apartment in Buenos Aires. Known for washing the feet of aids patients, prisoners and others that society looks down upon before Easter since 1999. The first non-European in 1200 years to be elected Pope. Latin America is home to almost half of the 1.2 billion Catholics, worldwide.
"St. Francis, the medieval saint famous for his love of animals, “gave so many beautiful things, the gift of poverty in particular was his main thought,” Nicolas Nunez, 26, a Mexican seminarian, said in St. Peter’s Square. “In a world where we have many things we don’t need, I see that as a signal to return to Christ who is our real richness.” "
Will this Pope have an impact on world or U.S. politics?
Looks like Malachy prophesy is debunked. The last pope was supposed to be this pope and was supposed to be Peter II.
Modernize the church by allowing married priests (rather than letting priests get married aka you have to have been married prior to ordination). The Catholic church already allows Eastern Catholic priests and Anglican priests converting to Catholicism to stay married. This would be a huge step in the right direction.
On the bright side though, Pope Francis give plenty of of opportunties to make "Take it easy, Francis" jokes...
The name's Pope Francis, but everybody calls me Il Papa. Any of you guys call me Francis, and I'll kill you. And I don't like nobody touching my stuff. So just keep your meat-hooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I'll kill you. Also, I don't like nobody touching me. Now, any of you homos touch me, and I'll kill you.
A friend of the poor and downtrodden? I wouldn't be so sure.
But the cardinals' choice risked running into immediate controversy over the new pope's role in Argentina's troubled history. In his book, El Silencio, a prominent Argentinian journalist alleged that he connived in the abduction of two Jesuit priests by the military junta in the so-called "dirty war". He denies the accusation.
Allegations surrounding his refusal to speak up for priests rounded up during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship have been described by his supporters as an "old slander".
More broadly, critics have also condemned his record of refusing to speak out during the brutal crackdown when some 13,000 to 30,000 people died or disappeared.
Many Argentines remain angry over the church's acknowledged failure to openly confront a regime that was kidnapping and killing thousands of people as it sought to eliminate "subversive elements" in society. It's one reason why more than two-thirds of Argentines describe themselves as Catholic, but fewer than 10 percent regularly attend mass.
Under Bergoglio's leadership, Argentina's bishops issued a collective apology in October 2012 for the church's failures to protect its flock. But the statement blamed the era's violence in roughly equal measure on both the junta and its enemies.
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