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Andrew Medichini/Associated Press |
After the second day of voting, there is a new pope in the Vatican. Yesterday, all cardinals of the Catholic church met in the Vatican city to replace Benedict XVI, the previous pope who stepped down. Benedict XVI is the first pope to step down from the position in almost 600 years. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a 76 year old cardinal from Argentina, steps into the role as the 266th pontiff of the Catholic church.
In order to select a new pope, all cardinals around the world come to the Vatican City where they meet in the Sistine Chapel. In secrecy, they discus amongst themselves until they decide to vote amongst themselves for one cardinal to become the new pope. If a cardinal does not get two thirds of the vote, then the crowd outside is signaled with black smoke. There may be up to four votes in a day.
At the end of yesterday, the first day of voting, black smoke signaled that there would be no new pope for that day. Today however, the thousands of rained soaked individuals outside were greeted with white smoke as a new pope was decided on. Around an hour later, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, renamed Francis now, greeted the crowd as the 266th pope. The first non-European pope in over 1200 years, Francis represents a shift in the dispersal of Catholic's around the world.
Francis steps into the position in a troubling time for the Catholic Church. It is dealing with sex scandals, corruption, and a failing national bank (The Vatican Bank). After a rocky last decade, Francis will have to show he can steer through the bureaucracy of the Vatican in order to be an effective leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics around the world.
What do you think will be the next step of the Vatican? Will Francis be an effective leader of the Catholic people? How will this effect the world beyond the Vatican?
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6 comments:
I think the choice of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 266th pontiff of the Catholic church was a wise one. His Argentinian background opens up the Catholic church to the rest of the world and not centered in Europe as it has always been previously. He enters the position at a difficult time with all the scandals and corruption currently facing the society. It is too early to decide if Francis is the perfect person for the position, but his humble background certainly helps his credibility. He asked the Argentinian people to use the money they would have spent on plane tickets to Rome to celebrate with him instead to donate it to the poor. He also has elected to ride the bus instead of using the provided transportation. It is a relief to finally have a new pope decided and the world will be watching as he spends his first few weeks as 266th pontiff of the Catholic church.
While I will admit that my entire knowledge of the papal conclave originates from reading "Angels and Demons," this seemed to be a very quick decision relative to historical elections (fun fact: the longest conclave lasted almost three years). I am curious to see if this quick decision is indicative of a new unity within the Catholic church. In recent years, the Catholic church has had many internal divisions which often occurred when one branch of the church turned a blind eye to the scandals of the other branches. Perhaps unity will lead to a more productive (and hopefully progressive) papacy.
Unfortunately, Pope Francis has previously spoken out against gay marriage. NBC reports , "He has opposed abortion and gay marriage, and in 2010 he drew the ire of Argentina’s president when he said that gay adoption was a form of discrimination against children." While this position isn't entirely surprising, I find it rather disappointing nonetheless.
On a personal note, I admire his choice of "Francis" as his new name. The name hails from Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. However, I suspect the namesake may have more to do with the vow of poverty that the new pope (who would have made this vow as a Jesuit) shares with the saint.
Hopefully Bergoglio's election will prove to have a positive effect on the perception as well as the inner workings of institutionalized Catholicism. Although I cannot say that I am incredibly knowledgeable in this area or that I approve of much of the church's legacy, it is a shame that all those who wish to remain a part of the church for their beliefs are forced to deal with the scandals that are really the responsibility of a few individuals who they may or may not support. The church owes it to its members to exist in a positive way, as a force for good in the real world--not just in claims it makes despite the controversies.
As Andrew noted, it is very unfortunate that the new Pope does not seem very progressive. Alienating groups of perfectly good people from the faith seems unwise, although I can't say I am surprised about it either.
On a slightly more neutral note, the election traditions are very interesting.
Similar to a lot of you other comment-posters, I too am no expert on the Vatican or the Catholic community as a whole. However, I predict that one of Pope Francis's first major goals is to positively change the image of his religion and the many priests that have been big contributors to the numerous scandals that have come of late. It may be difficult, but it's something he'll have to do if he wants to have a unified and successful following as a religious leader.
Kind of on a side note, the current Catholic community may be analogous to the United States's Republican community... They both are in need of a positive image change, they both have many ideologically divided members, and they both have slip-ups or scandals that get (sometimes unnecessary and excessive) criticism from the public and media. Perhaps going back to "the basics" is something that could be beneficial for both groups?
In keeping with the trend here, I'm hardly well-versed in Catholicism or the Vatican. However, from what I've read it seems Pope Francis actually is a step away from the alienation that has sometimes been associated with this church. Even though he may be against gay marriage/adoption and abortion, the fact that he is from Argentina helps to make Catholicism much more inclusive of different parts of the world. Liberals can only hope that this increased inclusion will one day expand to other groups.
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