Pope Francis’ election ten years ago was a huge surprise. His humble, simple style confused the faithful – he chose to live in a suite at the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse, instead of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. He carried his own suitcase, took the bus, and used a small car. His first pastoral visit was to the island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily to pray for refugees and migrants lost at sea. Throughout his ten years, he has spoken for the marginalised and his marks of office are servant leadership.
Reflections on his ten years in office were offered by panellists in a Religion Media Centre Briefing, marking the anniversary of his election on 13 March 2013. They spoke of his determination to tackle issues of social justice and equality head-on, his bravery in starting a process of consultation “synodality” to animate the grassroots of the church, his appeals for peace in Ukraine and South Sudan, his constant attention to issues of global concern such as poverty, war and climate change, demanding action in response.
His understanding of the church as embracing all including the marginalised has led him to offer the “help of sacraments” to divorced Catholics and saying of LGBTQ+ people “who am I to judge?”. While held in high affection by the majority of Catholics, during the last ten years, he has attracted venomous opposition, especially in the United States, with a ferocity unprecedented in many ways. And despite his ill health and mobility issues, it has become clear that he intends to stay in office rather than retire early like his predecessor.
Our panel: Christopher Lamb, Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, journalist, and author of The Outsider: Pope Francis and His Battle to Reform the Church; Professor Anna Rowlands, St Hilda Associate Professor of Catholic Social Thought & Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Durham; The Bishop of Salford, John Arnold; Kerry Weber, Executive Editor, America magazine; and Fr Damian Howard, Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus.
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Ten years of bold action by Francis, the humble Pope?
“Pope Francis’ model is Jesus Christ and the model is one of humility, simplicity, servant leadership”
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