It’s less than a week before Pope Francis steps foot in the Philippines to visit Yolanda survivors and other members of the Filipino faithful.
Before his historic visit, GMA News Online looks back at why the
Pontiff—the first Jesuit and the first non-European and Latin American
pope in 1,300 years—is shaping up to be a revolutionary leader of the
Catholic Church.
Before he became Pope Francis,
the pontiff was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, the son of
a rail worker father and a housewife mother. He led a simple life as
the Archbishop of Buenos Aires before he was elected to the papacy in
March 2013.
Moments after his election, Pope
Francis made history by taking on the name Francis, after Saint Francis
of Assisi, who was known to have shunned wealth to live in poverty.
Throughout his almost two-year leadership, Pope Francis has proven to
be a pope to watch, one that has breathed life back into a tired church
with his views on controversial issues, including the treatment of gays
and lesbians, evolution, divorce and others.
LGBTs should be respected
In a remarkable change from his predecessor Benedict, who said
homosexuality was an intrinsic disorder, Francis said that when
homosexuals told him they were always condemned by the Church and felt
"socially wounded," he told them "the Church does not want to do this."
Pope Francis defended gays from discrimination by saying he was in no position to judge members of the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender community.
"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?" the pope said.
"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says
they should not be marginalized because of this (orientation) but that
they must be integrated into society," he said in 2013.
However, the Pope also referred to the Catholic Church's universal
Catechism, which says that while homosexual orientation is not sinful,
homosexual acts are.
"The problem is not having
this orientation. We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this
orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic
lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem," he said.
Evolution not in contradiction with God
Another issue where Pope Francis diverted from the longtime stance of the Catholic Church is on the topic of evolution.
In October of last year, Pope Francis embraced evolution and said the Big Bang Theory is not at odds with God’s teachings.
In October of last year, Pope Francis embraced evolution and said the Big Bang Theory is not at odds with God’s teachings.
Addressing a meeting of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences, an
independent body housed in the Vatican and financed largely by the Holy
See, Francis said scientific explanations for the world did not exclude
the role of God in creation.
"The beginning of
the world is not the work of chaos that owes its origin to something
else, but it derives directly from a supreme principle that creates out
of love," he said.
"The 'Big Bang', that today
is considered to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the
creative intervention of God, on the contrary it requires it," he said.
"Evolution in nature is not in contrast with the notion of [divine]
creation because evolution requires the creation of the beings that
evolve," the pope added.
Abortion still horrific
Yet while he has embraced views that some may call revolutionary for
the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church, there are some issues on which Pope
Francis stays with the script. A notable issue which the Church has long
condemned is the practice of abortion.
Last year, Pope Francis, pushed by critics, called the act “horrific.”
"It is horrific even to think that there are children, victims of
abortion, who will never see the light of day," he said in a section of
the speech about the rights of children around the world.
Abortion, he said, was part of a "throwaway culture" that had enveloped many parts of the world.
"Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable
objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as
unnecessary," he said.
Moral renewal
Pope Francis has also proved that he was not immune to criticizing
those in his backyard. In his New Year’s message, Pope Francis cited the
need for moral upheaval in Rome and in the Vatican itself.
“The Curia needs to change, to improve
... a Curia that does not criticize itself, that does not bring itself
up to date, that does not try to improve, is a sick body," the Pope
said.
Francis even went as far as to say that some in
the Curia acted as if they were "immortal, immune or even
indispensable," an apparent reference to retired cardinals who remain in
the Vatican and continue to exert influence.
With all of his pronouncements that have brought the Catholic Church
into the light of the 21st Century, it’s no wonder the world’s Catholics
have embraced Francis as the “people’s pope.” —KG, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
