What's a pope to do, when he inherits a church that is mired in controversy, scandals and investigations?
One way to better things is to steer the institution back to its central mission: help the poor, appeal to the masses, be humble etc.
But Pope Francis, to be honest, is taking quite a stance. First he refused to use the popemobile to the horror of his bodyguards. Then he revealed that indeed, there was a 'velvet mafia' inside the Vatican. Then he appealed to the masses to revert to the central tenets of Christianity, the Vatican be damned. Then he said.....a lot of things, many of which may or may not sit well with the rest of the Curia.
This pope, however, is unstoppable, or so it seems. Just today, he uttered the unthinkable: 'do not marginalize gays'.
All this populism appears to be orchestrated, and it might be. But it is controversial. After centuries of stuffiness, dogma and doggedness, not to mention shady banking dealings and other woes, pope Francis seems heaven-bent to bring the church to the people.
Inclusion then, is the new buzzword. Discriminate against no one, marginalize no one, embrace everyone.
He did reaffirm however, that homosexuality, when practiced, is a sin.
Pope Francis has just returned from a glorious tour of Brazil, and he is still basking in that light. But he has a lot of things to do. And just uttering pleasantries and going out in the streets of Rome isn't going to change the Vatican's problems. Those who believed, never swayed, and those who were not so passionate, are not going to so easily be convinced by the new message.
Op_Ed
Source : TheRawStory/ 7.29.13
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