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HABEMUS PAPAM!!!
Mar. 13th, 2013 09:00 pmAnd this time I'm actually quite happy about it! When my county is in shambles, at least I can nurture some tentative hope concerning my Church, to which I'm still bound in tormented love. Sort of. To the idea of it. To what it could be. This new Pope might actually make the first steps in the right direction. I have no illusions that I'd live long enough to see it come true, but at least I can hope again.
A Jesuit, a cardinal who refused to use a limo or to live in a palace, who raised his voice against corruption and powerty, who seems overall simple, humble and loveable... perhaps we're truly blessed this time. I like it that he's from South America, after all, 80% of all Catholics do. I like it that he chose the name Franciscus - the associations are very clear. I wish by God this Franciscus could reform the Church the same way his namesake had done all those centuries ago.
Of course, the fact that he's got a fairly conservative attitude when it comes to birth control and all the things attached to it dims my joy a little. And I fear what the merciles machinery of the Vatican will leave intact from his intentions... we saw how John Paul II was ground by the wheels of said machinery, slowly but steadily. But again, he was Polish, and the Polish Church survived through iron conservativism. In South America, the Church is still a lot more youthful and dynamic than in Europe. So, despite everything, I still dare to hope again, just a little bit.
A Jesuit, a cardinal who refused to use a limo or to live in a palace, who raised his voice against corruption and powerty, who seems overall simple, humble and loveable... perhaps we're truly blessed this time. I like it that he's from South America, after all, 80% of all Catholics do. I like it that he chose the name Franciscus - the associations are very clear. I wish by God this Franciscus could reform the Church the same way his namesake had done all those centuries ago.
Of course, the fact that he's got a fairly conservative attitude when it comes to birth control and all the things attached to it dims my joy a little. And I fear what the merciles machinery of the Vatican will leave intact from his intentions... we saw how John Paul II was ground by the wheels of said machinery, slowly but steadily. But again, he was Polish, and the Polish Church survived through iron conservativism. In South America, the Church is still a lot more youthful and dynamic than in Europe. So, despite everything, I still dare to hope again, just a little bit.
