Richard Rohr on Pope Francis

Fr. Richard Rohr published an article on Huffington Post, sharing his hopes for the new face of papacy.

Here are a few excerpts.

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As a Franciscan, I was, of course, elated that one of the the first decisions of the new pope was to take a name that has not been taken by a pope before — “Francisco” — which in itself says an awful lot. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) is surely the most wonderful example of a joyful “para-church” approach to church reform. He was never a company man. “Don’t fight it directly,” Francis modeled for us, “just do it very differently yourself.”

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For Cardinal Bergoglio to identify himself so clearly with a reformer of Christian lifestyle, instead of a doctrinal apologist, is extremely telling and very hopeful. To quote Pope Paul VI, “The world will no longer believe teachers unless they are first of all witnesses.” The simple details of his apartment, his use of mass transit, his visits to wash the feet of AIDS patients, his passion for the poor, cooking his own food, all tell us that this man is about lifestyle Christianity more than perpetual doctrinal food fights, which bear so little real fruit anyway.

Let’s look at his non-verbals in the first hours of his papacy, which experts believe are much more truthful than language, anyway.

Harold Segura – Francis, Go and Repair My House

Note: I have just received this text from my friend and colleague Rev. Harold Segura, who is in charge of my World Vision sector in Latin America. I think it might be interesting for you to hear a Latin American Evangelical (Baptist) voice on the subject of the election of the new pope.

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Personal thoughts as not to remain silent, surprised before the news that the Pope is Argentinean.

San José, Costa Rica, March the 15^th 2013

            The Argentinean Cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was appointed as the new Pope of the Catholic Church.  He has chosen to exercise the pontificate of Rome under the name of Francis.

I followed the news via three different ways: the domestic TV station in Costa Rica, EWTN and the channel created by the Vatican for the live broadcast.  In all three, the statement was the same: «Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum Georgius Marius, Dominum Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Bergoglio, Qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscus» [I announce thee a great joy: We have a Pope: The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord Don Jorge Mario Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Bergoglio. Who has taken the name Francis].

The Peruvian anchorman of EWTN (in Spanish) was naturally flabbergasted as a faithful Catholic man, who in spite of wishing it so dearly, never imagined that his Pope would be a Latin American man.  Half joyful half bewildered, he managed to proclaim, with a heavy accent from Lima: “Bergoglio!  An Argentinean is the new Pope, brothers; Cardinal Bergoglio is the new Pope”.