Pope Francis Is Changing the Game at the Vatican
By: Akash Nair M S
Tags: Inspirational, Religion, Pope Francis, Life Lessons, Christianity

Having faith does not mean having no difficulties, but having the strength to face them, knowing we are not alone.

Photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash

The Roman Catholic Church isn’t just a religious body that spreads the gospel, but it is one of the biggest institutions in the world that has the power to influence 1.3 billion people globally. Sitting at the helm of the RC church in the Vatican is the Pontifex Maximus — commonly known as the pope.

When Pope Benedict XVI left office in 2013, little did people know his successor was going to radically change the image of the church. When Pope Francis, formerly Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected, he acknowledged it standing, and not sitting on the papal throne. He was dressed in a white cassock, wearing an iron cross instead of the flamboyant papal attire and golden cross used by his predecessors.

It was Pope Francis’ first move to show changes in formalities were on the way. Seven years since his selection, a lot has changed in the operating procedures within the Vatican.

Despite not being a believer, I feel there are a lot of traits anyone can learn from Pope Francis; irrespective of a person’s faith.

Austerity & simplicity: Pope Francis leads an extremely frugal and simple life. He believes it is a total waste of church resources to be leading a luxurious life, especially when a lot of people are living in poverty. He chose Francis as his papal name to honor St Francis Assissi — a priest who tirelessly worked for the poor. Pope Francis has definitely been walking the talk. Being inclusive: Pope Francis continues to be against same-sex marriage. But, what stands out is his relatively accommodating gesture towards homosexuality. He has made it clear he has no power to stop or judge anyone from seeking God, based on their sexual orientation. For a Pope, he is already miles ahead. The fact that he was selected as the “Person of the Year” in 2013 by “The Advocate”- an LGBT magazine speaks volumes about how the LGBT community feels about the Pope. Acknowledging human tendencies: During his first anniversary as the supreme priest, Pope Francis showed the courage to confess he fell in love with a woman during his training days to become a priest. He immediately sought redemption in the confession booth and was over the phase. With this simple act, he has shown how he is like any other person and can have natural human tendencies. People tend to follow a leader they can identify with, and not a perfect figure. Zero tolerance for sexual abuse: There have been coherent reports about minors being sexually abused in the church, but little has been done towards curbing it. Pope Francis was quick to create a committee to look into sexual abuse cases as he didn’t believe in protecting guilty clergymen to save the face of the church. The committee he created even included an abuse survivor. Gender equality: To see a woman become a Pope may be a distant dream, but Pope Francis has been taking numerous steps for women. Early this year, he appointed a woman to a leadership role within the church by creating the position. He continued his vision of having more women in the decision-making process by appointing six women to the council of economy.

Pope Francis has degrees in Chemistry, Theology, and Philosophy. He has even taught Psychology at the university level. He has never been ignorant of science, and the breadth he maintains in his thinking is clearly visible in his actions. Not to forget, he doesn’t miss an opportunity to make mother-in-law jokes.

Roman artist Mauro Pallotta made a graffiti of Pope Francis as a superhero and called him Superpope.

And, I only have one thing to say to that: amen.

T-shirts with the Superpope image have been raising funds for various charities, and this wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Pope Francis’ liberal views.

Thank you for reading!