Pope Francis, 1 yr

I was watching fox news a few days ago when one of the panelists picked Pope Francis for winner of the week. The 2 reasons she cited were; 1. He's a revolutionary 2. he's not divisive.

Does the media ever quit?

Revolutionary is not the word I'd use to describe Pope Francis.Yes,he has had some firsts.

He is the first Pope in our history to take the name Francis.

He is the first non European Pope in our history.

He is one of the very few popes to be elected after a predecessor had resigned.

So he does have some firsts and those may make him unique but not revolutionary. Of the last 3 Popes i don't recall any of them being divisive.

We proclaim in the Catholic Church:Unity in faith,Diversity in Traditions

We can look to the Pontificate of Pope Benedict the XVI for a perfect example of how the Church is unified in faith and diverse in tradition as he celebrated the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church.As did Blessed John Paul II who said we needed to learn to breathe with both our lungs;Eastern and Western(Latin)rite.

I quote a thread from the Byzantine Catholic forum here:

The six liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church were conspicuously present by the end of the fourth century and are still celebrated in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East today: the Liturgy of St. Mark (Coptic and Ethiopian), the Liturgies of Sts. John Chrysostom and Basil (Greek Melkite), the Liturgy of St. James (Maronite, Syrian, and Syro-Malankara), the East Syrian Liturgy (Chaldean and Syro-Malabar), the Armenian Liturgy, and the Latin Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI strongly affirmed this diversity of traditions as a harmony within the unity of faith in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation “The Church in the Middle East,” which was signed and distributed to the major hierarchs during his recent visit to Lebanon:

Like my Predecessors in the See of Peter, I wish here to state once more my desire to ensure that the rites of the Eastern Churches, as the patrimony of the whole Church of Christ in which shines forth the tradition coming down from the Apostles through the Fathers, and which, in its variety, affirms the divine unity of the Catholic faith, are observed and promoted conscientiously.

Pope Benedict dedicated a large portion of this exhortation to urging the different Churches to pray, learn, and work together in order to promotes true communion among Christians and true peace, which he defined as “the state of those who live in harmony with God and with themselves, with others and with nature.” He invited the Catholics of the various ecclesial communities to foster relationships with each other and to be mutually engaged in one another’s traditions.

In describing the harmony that the various Churches share he reflected on the Church as both universal and particular. In beautiful language, he spoke of the presence of the whole in each of its parts. But he challenged the Churches with these words, “The sincere recognition of the goodness of the other [Churches] includes acting in harmonious cooperation with them.”

Pope Benedict suggested several means of cooperation. For example, he encouraged Catholics to pray with other Catholic ecclesial communities and upheld the lay faithful of the Middle East, who already live this spiritual communion with

their brothers and sisters in Christ by attending liturgical services outside of their own Church.

He also suggested that an authentic renewal of liturgical text and celebrations be carried out in conjunction with the Orthodox Churches, as much as possible.

Source: http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/386424/Unity%20of%20Faith%20in%20a%20Diversity

I would not look to the media for reporting,much less analysis,of Pope Francis;or for that matter Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI and his predecessor Blessed John Paul II.They read into statements with their own lens and don't do their homework. Few,if any, have an understanding of Catholicism.For some reason(probably an agenda)they think the Pope can and will change doctrine. IF they understood Catholicism they would know this is not possible.

Pope Francis is not going to bless same sex marriage, condone abortion and contraception or allow women to become ordained priests.Not going to happen.It doesn't matter how the media spins it [or hopes.]If this is what the woman meant by revolutionary she is badly mistaken

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We don't get clones in the papacy.God does not take away a person's personality when they accept a vocation. Benedict was not John Paul II and Francis is neither of them. One is not better than the other or less than the other.Their highest title is Servant of the Servants of God.

Each brings a unique talent/gift to the Papacy if they are open to the Holy Spirit.The Church has been blessed with the last 3 popes we've had. All very holy men,prayerful and open to the Holy Spirit but clones? Nope.It's not fair to do a comparison or to use one to attack the other.

I am very comfortable that some people attend the Tridentine Mass and I'm very comfortable to attend a respectful NO Mass... as Fr Z says: Say the black,do the red.I have no interest in pitting one against the other. If the NO you attend is disrespectful find another parish. Maybe there is an Eastern Rite church in your area? As for me,bigger fish to fry.OF course I care,but not getting into the trad argument.Not today :)