Now that the new pope has been chosen, we can explore what his selection means for the future of the church, and for its members and supporters.
The pope will lead 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, which includes about 75 million Catholics in America. There are also a lot of non-Catholics who may be excited by his selection. For me, the appointment of the new pope is a reminder of many trips I took to services at our neighborhood Roman Catholic Church each Sunday, when I was young.
My mother, who was in ill health at the time, had a woman, Nellie, who helped take care of me when I was a child. She took me and my younger brother to the 8 o’clock Mass services for more than five years. Afterwards, she would take us for 5-cent, foot-long hot dogs. We would wait for her while she would talk with the priest for his advice about her daily and future concerns. She was building her dowry to take back with her to Europe, to marry her fiancé.
In choosing to take the name Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has signaled what is expected to be a significant commitment to the poor. In taking the name Francis, the pope has indicated his respect for the values of St. Francis of Assisi.
The University of New England began its life as a school, and later a college, founded by Franciscans from Quebec Province. It became a secular institution in 1974. Today, it is a very successful and widely respected university. My wife, Sandra, was its president for 11 years, from 1995 to 2006.
During her time at the university, Sandra always recited the Prayer of St. Francis at graduation exercises. She did this because she was so taken with its message of the importance of giving: “That it is in giving that we receive.” From what we know about Pope Francis, he seems to exemplify a life devoted to serving the poor.
It is also exciting to have a pope come from the western hemisphere, and from South America, in particular, rather than from the Catholic church’s declining membership in Europe. The selection of Pope Francis is a recognition by the Vatican of the growing importance of South America.
Pope Francis seems to be a man on a service mission, who wants his church to be an institution that serves others. His apparent aim is to practice simplicity and dignity, since he is known to have lived a simple life with humility. A good example is the day after being made pope, he rode in the bus with his fellow cardinals, instead of in a separate limousine, reflecting not only his austerity, but humility and how he wants to bring people together, by working among them.
His greatest strength appears to lie in his commitment to the poor and downtrodden. It is not only social but spiritual and equitable treatment of the poor, the widowed, and the fatherless and homeless, that he cares about. As a cardinal, he has been known to serve in this capacity and this prior experience should serve him well as the new pope.
He will face many challenges, of course. A Pew Study released on March 13 found that only 27 percent of the church’s U.S. members considered themselves strong Catholics today. A concerted effort on liberalization changes by Pope Francis could help reverse that spiritual rejection in the future.
The New York Times and CBS poll of Catholics, released a week ago, revealed that six in 10 Catholics support gay marriage, yet Pope Francis opposed it in 2010, while serving as a cardinal in Argentina. There are other major issues that are still dividing members of the church, such as those involving birth control, women becoming priests and the policy of celibacy for priests.
But the biggest problem facing the church these past years has been the sex abuse scandals, involving molestation and rape of minors by church leaders. Many church religious leaders have been accused of protecting or reassigning accused abusers. What is needed is for the church, in the future, to set a policy for more transparency and responsibility on situations like these.
In the meantime, I wish Pope Francis well. The world is experiencing difficult times, but we have been given a ray of hope and optimism by his appointment.
— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.
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