September
13th marks exactly 6 months since Pope Francis’s election and in that
time he has brought a new style of approach to the papacy. His human warmth, his energy and his simplicity has won him many fans not just among Catholics but across a far wider audience across the world.
Monsignor John Kennedy is an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and he spoke to Susy Hodges.
Asked for his assessment of the Pope’s first six months in office, Monsignor Kennedy says he agrees with those who call Francis “the Pope of surprises” and says many people feel “on the personal level a great sense of connection” with him.
He says people relate to the Pope’s many spontaneous gestures like “picking up the phone” to talk to ordinary people, “getting out of the papal jeep” to reach out to people at his general audience. “They love his simplicity and they’re uplifted by the initiatives he’s taking.”
At the same time, Monsignor Kennedy points out that it’s clear that Pope Francis knows where he’s going. “You can see that he’s a man with a vision, he’s a man who has plans for the Church…. His plans for further reforms of the Church. ” He goes on to say the Pope also “has a message for the whole world” and “it’s not only Catholics who have an opinion of him.”
One very encouraging result of the Pope Francis effect, says Monsignor Kennedy, is that through his example he is helping to encourage lapsed Catholics to return to the faith. “He’s showing the best of the church in many ways.”
When asked what we can expect from his second 6 months in office, Monsignor Kennedy replies “more of the same, more surprises” and advises people “to watch this space!”