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| Pope Francis I (pic from toledoblade.com) |
So who is Franicis I? Well for staters he was born Jeorge Mario Bergoglio and up until now, he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires since inheriting the job from his predecessor in 1998. A native of Argentina, he was ordained as a priest in 1969. Francis is both the first Jesuit and the first native of the Americas ever to be elected Pope.
Now I'm not the religious type, but even I had to admit that is was pretty riviting bearing witness to the events of the last few days as the Cardinals, the officals responsible for eleting a pope, remained completely silent about the entire affair up until the moment Pope Benedict XVI's selector was offically ready to be named (no leaks this time).
Being a member of the Order of Jesus or jesuits, Bergoglio is known for his promotion of social justice, his work to improve the lives of the poor, as well as his displays of poverty. A humble man, it has been reported that the new pontiff, while serving as in his capacity as Archbishop, chose to forego his stately quarters in favor of a modest apartment which he himself paid for. There have has also been stories of him opting to ride public transportaion in his native Argentina as opposed to the more commonly seen chauffered limosine.
It is in this regard that I wish more of the worlds religious leaders, or any leader for that matter, would follow in the example of Pope Francis I and indulge us with more displays of poverty and humilty. Trust me a little bit of chastity goes a long way. As far as I can tell, such acts can only serve to boost the church's image which would be as a boon for the Vatican after all of the bad publicity it's been receiveing in the last decade or so.
After all, Jesus never rode around in a Mercedes-Benz, with his hands and neck covered in gold and jewels.. ( right??)
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