A Papal Follow-up

English 306

Editorial Piece

There is a New Pope Today! 

Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina elected as 266th pope of the Catholic Church

About 11am PST, or about seven o'clock in the evening in Rome, the last vote in the Papal Conclave was cast, and white smoke drifted from the chimney at the Sistine Chapel.

Pope Francis, or Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina

Source: Paul Owen's Newsfeed from UK's The Guardian
Source: National Catholic Reporter's profile of Cardinal Bergoglio

"Modest and upright, [Cardinal Bergoglio] is also considered an intellectual heavyweight. He has also been very critical with corruption in his home country . He has also accused Argentina's government of not doing enough to eradicate poverty." - Giles Tremlett, The Guardian

Pope Francis, formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, addressed the crowd at St. Peter's Basillica for about ten minutes in the hour following his election. He called for prayer for Pope Benedict, prayer for the leaders of the church, and then asked the crowd to pray that he might be a blessed leader to them. And, at last, he blessed the crowd and vanished into the chapel again. 

The short conclave comes as a blessed surprised for some of the church, though not for the cardinals and bishops who took part in the papal conclave. According to the National Catholic Reporter, Cardinal Bergoglia was the second runner-up in the vote that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. 

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit, or member of the Society of Jesus, elected to pontificate; which means his focus is pastoral mission work, building schools and ministering to the needy. He has been very involved in the politics of Argentina, often criticizing political leaders for ignoring the needs of the poor. Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria is optimistic for this pope who seeks social justice for his flock. In Nigeria, Arinze faces similar problems, calling focus to the impoverished people of Africa. 

As the pope, Francis inherits not only the many benefits of being pope, but all the burdens of governing the Church. The Catholic Church is not only a major seat of religion but happens to be a business responsible for people, history and art. The Church will depend on Pope Francis to guide the church through bumpy financial deficits as she struggles to hold on to parishioners - the major source of income. In South America, the Church is shrinking. In Africa the church is growing, but poor. 

Already there are voices who criticize Pope Francis' history as conservative in Argentina; he spoke against homosexuality and adoption by homosexual couples. He's also in opposition of abortion and euthanasia. However, something unusual - he is not against contraception in the cases of preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections. This is evidence that while he represents the ideals of the Catholic Church, he's not afraid to be practical - probably a credit to his Jesuit ideals of practical, not luxuriant, living. 

God Bless Pope Francis, already known as a champion for the people.