With the surprise election of Pope Francis, following the stunning and completely unexpected abdication of Pope Benedict XVI, our prayers have been answered.
The Church, the family of God to whom Jesus promised he would always be present through a representative, beginning with St. Peter, who would lovingly rule the children of his flock — guiding them to holiness, teaching them and at times correcting them — is rejoicing.
Catholics affectionately call this representative Papa or Pope because we love and trust him to guide us in this life and show us the way to the heavenly Father. That is why we rejoice madly when that white fumata appears — no matter who the particular man is. In Pope Francis, we rejoice. We now have a new Holy Father. We are orphans no more!
The Church, which by its very essence was born universal, is now truly global — not only by the communion of the saints, but also thanks to new technologies that enable the word of God to be communicated in virtually any place, in any part of the world, at relatively low cost. And now, for the first time since early Christianity, we have a pope who is not only not from Europe, but also from another hemisphere that contains 40% of the world’s Catholic faithful.
At first glance, there are several delightful characteristics about Pope Francis that undoubtedly will be a blessing to the Church.
Firstly, his intellect. He has degrees in philosophy, theology and chemistry. He has taught literature and psychology. Has any other pope in history arrived with such a broad academic résumé to the Chair of Peter?
Secondly, the respect he has received from his fellow Jesuits, who elected him superior of the Jesuit Province of Argentina. It is rare for a Jesuit to become not only an archbishop, much less a cardinal, and it’s completely unprecedented for a member of the Society of Jesus to be the supreme pontiff.
Lastly, and perhaps most impressive, is his evident humility, as shown not only in his choice of pontifical name, but by his personal poverty and pastoral work in Argentina.
Pastorally, he has shown a preferential option for the poor. Indeed, one small example is how much time he spends hearing confession and giving spiritual guidance — not only to the elite, but also to the poor. They all know him simply as Father Jorge.
He has been heroically loyal to the Church’s teaching on marriage and the right to life. And he has expressed those views strongly to the government.
On marriage, he has said: “Let’s not be naïve; we’re not talking about a simple political battle. It is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but, rather, a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”
He has also said: “At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”
All of this puts Pope Francis in line among the most remarkable succession of popes in the modern history of the Church. From Pope Pius XII up to Blessed John Paul II, all the popes in between have had their causes for canonization officially opened. And who would bet against an eventual cause for Benedict XVI when he leaves this valley of tears for a better place?
This remarkable succession of popes is a cause for hope. But we must also remain realistic about the Church’s mission in this new millennium.
The Church’s mission, simply put, is to help as many people on earth to get to heaven as possible before the world is shut down and Jesus comes in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Two words are key to fulfilling the Church’s mission: evangelization and holiness.
However, the Church is in the world — though not of the world — and joyfully plays its role in the charitable service of mankind and all races, all of whom are seen as children of God, regardless of their religious beliefs.
How appropriate that Pope Francis has chosen St. Francis of Assisi as his patron of his pontificate.
What can we expect from this pontificate?
Above all, continuity. I suspect we’ll see a continuation from him with the two special popes who proceeded him in finally and forever putting into global practice the primary message of the Second Vatican Council that we are celebrating in this Year of Faith.
That message is the joyful universal call to holiness, not just for clergy or consecrated religious, but for every baptized Christian. And a holiness that is evangelical — in both words and deed — from men and women whose hearts have burned within them when they encountered the risen Christ.
Indeed, we are orphans no more. Pope Francis, lead your children in holiness and apostolic zeal!
Opus Dei Father C.J. McCloskey III is a research fellow of the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington.
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I am heartened to remember that God told St. Francis to, “Rebuilt My Church.” How appropriate a name for our new pope!
Father C John
As a practicing Orthodox Catholic Christian, I really respect your work -well most of your work. Your article: Orphans no More! Really Father??
I know that you are sort of quoting scripture here where Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans but come on Father this is a stretch and some sappy…in my opinion. Did you really think for a minute you/we were orphans?
Josh
We never were orphans. We are beloved sons and daughters of God—not the Holy Father as thrilled as I am to have Pope Francis. May God bless him abundantly!!
I am so thankful for the Cardinals, who overcame disagreement or differences they have among themselves, IF ANY, as humans, and listened to the Holy Spirit to in order to realized Pope Francis’ qualities and voted him Pope. Thanks be to God!!!
According to the Anglican archishop of the territory including Argentin, Dr.Venables, who says he is a friend of the new pope, then-Cardinal Bergoglio told him that he was opposed to the Anglican Ordinariate as “unnecessary.” This is unfortunate.
Please, will the author of this article read ALL the New Testament letters, verse-by-verse, then preach and teach them, in context and in their fullness, in an expository fashion? Thank you.
The tragedy of VCII is that belief in the Real Presence of Jesus has plummeted to a scandalous 25 percent. I do hope Pope Francis can help us regain the virtual 100 percent that preceded the council.
It seems to me that the mission of Holy Mother Church is not as narrow as the author suggests. It is true that the salvation of souls is central to her mission, but it is not the whole. The Church must glorify God, both in this life and in the next. Unless this is realized, one may mistake the role of Liturgy and mistakenly believe that the “secular” world can be allowed to roam as it wishes in the “broad way.” This is not so.
The world must be offered in praise to God. To be so offered it must be made holy. The Holy Catholic Church is in service to God. She cannot serve two masters. Unless mankind is “under” God, the Church must choose between man and God, and she must choose God. This is a dilemma missed by the notion that the salvation of souls is the sole task of the Church.
Pax Christi.
Excellent piece! I found your article very insightful. Please continue writing for NC Register.
Although the new pope is the Holy Father, it will be best to describe the Catholic Church as “leaderless”, since there was no one to guide us in a new direction.Since he has degrees in philosophy, he can talk about all points of life-not just with theology.It also will be very interesting on his new relationship with the president of Argentina, whom he was not in agreement in many aspects.
Latin America is not a “hemisphere”.
We need to wait and see what Pope Francis will do. So far, he seems to be his own man. The true “LEADER” of the Body of Christ is Jesus. But we do need a man here, to direct and be responsible for shepherding the flock.
In an Italian article, I read today that he spoke about the Prophet Jonah, as did Jesus, so that’s good.
He may not be like so many of our priesthood today that calls much of the Bible, a “myth”, like the first eleven chapters of Genesis, that local Catholic parishioners were told they did not have to believe.
Pope Francis deserves a chance. We need to show him grace. Someone will be pope. We don’t need to canonize him after a week. But we can show him grace and mercy, and help him succeed.
Our church is all about Jesus. It’s about the Gospel. With a Jesuit, maybe priests and bishops will be more compelled to preach and teach the New Testament letters, in context and verse-by-verse, equipping Catholics to live Christian lives. That has eternal value. Souls are at stake.
We can show mercy, grace and love, extending forgiveness liberally, while we all work together (Christian with Christian) to build a God-honoring, Christian world & being salt & light for everyone, till Christ comes. Come, Lord Jesus!
Great article by Fr. McCloskey!
At the end of the book of Matthew, the great commission to the Apostles was: “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to OBEY everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt:28:19-20
Notice Jesus did not send them out to be social workers. The job of caring for the poor was to come from the converts to Christianity who were to give the coats from their own backs to those without. No where in the New Testament did Jesus advocate for a Roman welfare state.
If the Catholic Church were true to the “great commission” there would be no need for the overwhelming bureaucracies in the Vatican and the Chancery offices around the globe. People would be helping people instead of depending on bureaucrats in the Church and governments to oversee the job.
The Church needs to clean up the wretched catechesis that has reduced it to another NGO (Non-government organization)these past fifty years. To teach the Faith is the primary duty of the Pope, the bishops, and the priests. The main office in the Vatican should be “The Office of Catechesis.” I nominate Fr. C.J. McCloskey to head it up!
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