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The Spectacle Blog
As Jackson Adams has noted, the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pontiff is historically significant because he is the first Pope to take the name Francis, the first from the Americas (indeed he is the first non-European Pope in well over a millennium) and the first Jesuit Pope.
He further notes that the new Pope lived modestly during his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and was known to take the bus. However, I doubt Pope Francis will never again utilize public transportation. There are practical reasons of course. Let us not forget the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981.
I have no doubt that Francis will continue to live a simple life. Yet the trappings of power can overcome even the most holy and humble of men.
Given that Francis is 76, his papacy will very likely be a short one. Of course, given the long reign of Pope John Paul II it is easy to forget that most Popes are lucky to last a decade. As such the task of rebuilding the Catholic Church will far outlast the stewardship of Francis. At the very minimum, it will take a generation to restore the Church’s prestige and this is probably an optimistic assessment.
As I have written previously, the Catholic Church is most likely to regain trust through deeds rather than words. This isn’t to say there aren’t Catholic institutions engaged in good deeds. There most certainly are. But there is much work to be done. Its reputation will not be restored until it is no longer perceived as being synonymous with sexual abuse.
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More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2013/03/13/thoughts-on-pope-francis-i
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jhep| 3.13.13 @ 5:39PM
I and many others will no doubt quickly tire of reminding everyone that there is no Francis I until there is a Francis II, Until that time he is simply Francis.
Aaron Goldstein| 3.13.13 @ 10:48PM
Noted & amended.
Bob K| 3.13.13 @ 9:38PM
I was wondering who was going to be the first writer here to bring up the sexual angle.
And, incidentally, pedophilia is a Psychiatric Disorder.
Corruption of Minors is a crime. One that has become as routinely ignored as illegally immigrating into the USA has. At least in Boston.
kingsmill| 3.13.13 @ 10:46PM
When will we be seeing the blog posts discussing the much greater levels of sexual abuse by certain Orthodox Jewish sects, within the public schools and in youth sports???
Teflon93 | 3.14.13 @ 11:59AM
Never---doesn't suit Goldstein's agenda.
Teflon93 | 3.14.13 @ 5:41AM
You're a real piece of work, Goldstein. By all means tell me your religious affiliation so I can provide you with the sexual abuse cases in your own community, demonstrate the current incidence rate is far higher than that of the Church, and condemn your hypocrisy in not giving a fig about the abuse of children except insofar as to engage in anti-Catholic bigotry,
Egil| 3.14.13 @ 8:52AM
" ...there is much work to be done..."
That is true, not only regarding the sexual abuse and related cover-ups, but also the influence of homosexuals and far-leftists in influential positions within the Church, who have used Vatican II as a pretext for pushing their anti-Christian agendas. A Catholic priest in Poland recently wrote a document that discusses these problems at some length.
Children are now probably safer in the company of Catholic priests than they are in the company of public school teachers, but the Catholic Church needs to still do a lot to win back the trust of people due to the sex abuse scandals.
I hope and pray that Pope Francis has the stamina to fight the evils that are within and outside the Church.