On Sunday night I asked a good friend if he wanted to stay and eat Pot Roast with us. He quipped "Is the Pope Catholic?" I jokingly replied, "From what I've seen and heard, I actually think he may be Nazarene!"
I've heard a lot of good things about the man who is now Pope Francis. He refused to live in a mansion provided for him while Cardinal in Buenos Aires. He refused to ride in the Limo provided and instead took the bus to work. He cooked his own meals. When he was announced as the new Pope he bowed his head to the crowds in St. Peters square and asked them to pray for him. He went back to where he had been staying to personally pay his bill. On the way to his Inaugural ceremony he refused to ride in the bullet proof 'Pope Mobile' and instead rode in the back of a jeep. He was quoted as saying "The Pope is not the center of the church, Christ is!" Now I read he will not live in the Pope's residence but in the residence with the rest of the priests where they all stay. All things that make him appear very humble and sincere.
It was the moment pictured above however that struck me to the core, because it was in that moment that I recognized somebody. On the way to the inaugural ceremony he made them stop the jeep, he got out and kissed the face of the disabled man in the above photo. It was that moment that the spirit inside me leapt in recognition. Recognition of the same spirit inside of this man. The spirit of a man who over two thousand years ago stopped on his way to somewhere important to take the time to touch the face of a lowly leper.
So take your criticisms, your conspiracy theories, your doctrinal arguments, your negativity, and your fault finding to some other person. I refuse to listen any longer. Drop your stones on the ground and go home, for you are not without fault yourself.
Is the Pope Catholic? Yes, he is a member of that denomination or he could not be their pope. More importantly, he is a Christian, and as a man the whole world is watching, has the ability to show Christ to that world. I suggest we pray for him.
