Pope Francis in Varginha, Brazil. Photo Credit: Agência Brasil.
Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), was elected in March of 2013. No one knew much about him then, but now, Pope Francis has established himself firmly as a church reformer and has gained the nickname “The Radical Pope.”
Francis has made various statements indicating that he is more liberal than his predecessor, Benedict XVI. When he was asked about the possibility of gay priests, he said, “Who am I to judge?” His progressive attitude seems to be a way to move the Church past the child sex abuse scandal and into the 21st Century.
However, Pope Francis is perhaps not as liberal in truth as he appears in his more public persona. In September 2013, Francis said, “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods,” concerning conservative members of the church about his stance on those subjects.
Francis has since, in less-publicised forums, said that abortion is “horrible” and that homosexuality is an “anthropological regression.” He appears to give the RCC a better reputation amongst young people and non-members in publicised quotes, while continuing to uphold traditional Catholic values among members and officials of the church.
This strategy is working with many people. Pope Francis was TIME’s person of the year for 2013, he has graced the cover of Rolling Stone, and there is graffiti in Rome labelling him the “SuperPope.”
European citizens expressed joy at the new pope’s popularity. Spanish teen Rebecca Ruedas Segura said she finds the new pope “very modern. He shows concern for the young,” and Carlo Romano, an older Italian man, called Pope Francis “a revolutionary pope.”
Francis has secured his reputation as a pope set securely in the 21st century, without any extensive investigation to his image or views when he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina. However, it cannot be said that Pope Francis has not made positive changes already.
Francis is focusing on the RCC’s existence outside of Europe, to make sure the church is strong on all fronts. A wise move, considering the various scandals going on (see: Germany’s embezzling “Bishop of Bling”), mostly in European branches of the RCC.