It has to suck to Pope Francis I. The new pontiff is coming
into a major mess, and it doesn’t look good. His predecessor retired, something
that almost no pope has done, and he has to deal with an organization more
applicable in many ways to a world that no longer exists. He has to bring the
Catholic Church into the modern world and it’s not going to be easy.
He’s already had to deal with a number of rumors and
innuendoes. Most notably was a Facebook meme that made it seem as if he attacked
women looking for office, and an article made it look as if he had caused two
men to be kidnapped. The meme was easily dealt with, as no one could find a
source for the quote, and it turned out the two men were kidnapped after being
let go by the Church. His tenure already promises to be interesting, as he has
to deal with a number of problems that few popes have had to deal with, as the
Church’s attitudes need to be brought into the present, specifically the
apparent plague of pedophilia, the use of condoms, and the role of women and
homosexuals in the Catholic Church. The question is whether or not he is
equipped for the challenge.
There is a lot of hope with this new pope. He is known for
his role in social issues; he has a reputation for driving himself, and has a
preference for living as simply as possible. The two incidents uncovered that
he has no problem with women leaders, and even has a few as heroes. When the
two men were kidnapped, Francis I helped secure their release, as well as
helped thousands of dissidents escape. He has condoned the use of condoms for
the purposes of disease prevention, something that is already light years ahead
of other pontiffs. So there is a certain amount of hope.
This is not to say that the road will be smooth. The
pedophile problem will always be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, even
though there is little that can ultimately be done about it. The Church is an
unfortunately static entity, and the numbers of disaffected Catholics due to
the inability of the Church to adapt to modern life is another issue. Combined
with the current status of women and homosexuals in the Church, and Francis I
has a lot of problems he has to deal with in order to put the Church on an even
footing. With his age and that the Church is known for reversing the rulings of
prior popes, it is doubtful that he will be able to make the reforms needed or
that they will stick.
However, hope once stirred is hard to still. There is a
rising voice within the laity that things need to change, and that now has to
be the moment. The Prophecy of the Popes is a source of worry, as it prophesies
that Pope Francis I may be the last pope. There are two ways of interpreting it,
of course, assuming a third option, one that allows for a number of popes
before it comes true, doesn’t come into play: The Church will fall, heralding
The Apocalypse, and that The Church will change so much that it will no longer as
we know it now. In short, the new pope has to make a lot of changes and do so
quickly, and he’s facing the possibility that his choices may have apocalyptic consequences.
No problem, as long as he walks with God and stays on the
side of the angels. It should make for an interesting next couple of years…
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