Francis has changed church’s direction since his ascention
Francis has changed church’s direction since his ascention
Time magazine’s yearly selection for “Person of the Year” often sparks controversy and misunderstanding. Its 2013 pick of Pope Francis is no exception.
Conservative radio talk show host Glenn Beck called the Pope a fascist. “Remember, progressives are fascists, they are for fascism. Congratulations.” Beck doesn’t like that the Pope talks too much about income inequality and not enough about the benefits of the capitalism.
The Huffington Post’s Jeff Schweitzer essentially called the Pope a phony and said “his impact has been in the realm of theater rather than substance. Outside of good photo ops, he has accomplished little in the little time he has been in office.” Schweitzer’s is upset the Pope hasn’t come out in full favor of abortion, gay marriage and female priests.
Both assessments miss the point. During his first months of his papacy, Francis in deed and word has dramatically altered the tone and direction of the church. The significance of that change may be over the heads of some, but it’s not lost on the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
As Time wrote, Francis has captured the imaginations of people weary of the church’s “endless parsing of sexual ethics” and “the buck-passing infighting over lines of authority.”
As a former janitor and nightclub bouncer, Pope Francis views his role as that of servant and comforter. As theology professors, his recent predecessors behaved more like disciplinarians. That’s a profound difference that will likely resonate for a very long time and is deserving of recognition.