Pope Francis, who is currently head
of the Catholic Church, has made history for quite a few reasons.
First
and foremost, he was elected last March while his predecessor was still
alive.
Beyond that, Francis was the first Jesuit pope, the first to have
come from the Americas and the first to have come from the Southern
Hemisphere.
Despite all of these reasons why Pope
Francis is unique, he has also become widely recognized for a series of
remarks that some hope have opened the Catholic Church to change.
Perhaps the
best-known example of these developments is the pope’s comments
regarding homosexuality. He was quoted last July as saying: “If someone
is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to
judge?”
This is a significant development for the leader of the world’s
Catholics, as the previous papal response continually rode along the
lines of calling homosexuality an “intrinsic moral evil.”
It should be noted
these recent remarks are not a total 180-degree change on behalf of the
Catholic faith.
Homosexual acts are still seen as sins, but the idea of
being sexually attracted to a member of the same gender is starting to
be painted in a different light.
Pope Francis isn’t
giving the OK for the gay community.
The tenets of Christianity still
label homosexuality as wrong.
However, he is practicing yet another
aspect of Christianity: forgiveness, and the idea that only God may
judge.
In addition to being
more open on those matters, Pope Francis has also made statements
regarding the expansion of roles for women in the church, a discussion
on priests’ celibacy and increased communication with the leaders of
other faiths.
Across the globe,
this change in attitude toward social issues is seen by many as
much-needed progress for one of the most prominent religious
institutions in the world.
What many of these supporters have in common,
however, is more than a little shocking:
They are not Catholic.
Yes, there is
considerable support for Pope Francis from Catholics; a Pew poll in
early September found that in the United States, 79 percent of Catholics
view him favorably.
There are also those who support the comments made
by the pope, even though they do not practice Catholicism.
Of course with any
public manifestations of that faith, such as when a group’s religious
beliefs seep into government actions or policies which affect all
citizens, there will certainly be an issue of civil rights for violated
groups.
It can be tempting to try to impose the dominant views of
society on religious minority groups, especially when the views in
question are those of tolerance, acceptance and equality.
Those
temptations, though, are an affront to religious freedoms.
And the Catholic
Church, as an individual body, has managed not to infringe on people’s
rights.
However, its followers or believers, as in any religion, might
sometimes interpret the sacred canon to allow for open hate and
intolerance.
What Pope Francis has
done, with his recent statements and expressions of his views, is
reduced the tendency for prejudice and opened the doors to Catholicism
to people from all walks of life.
In Pope Francis’s
hands, the Catholic Church seem to communicate what Christianity is
supposedly all about: love and acceptance.
Though he and his church
still follow the tenets of the Bible and of their Catholic religion,
Pope Francis has made the Catholic Church even more of a global leader
through his accepting, open-minded system.