Pope Francis Research Paper

Pope Francis’ ongoing journey as the head of the Roman Catholic Church has been unforeseen. In this time of significant change in social standards, the Catholic Church has also progressed forward as seen by the decision in electing its most recent head, Pope Francis. Pope Francis’ unique background, approach, and positions on issues has renewed the standards and redundancies of his title and thus distinguishes him from past popes.
Pope Francis began as Jorge Mario Bergoglio born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina which makes him the first non-European pope in 1,200 years and the first pope ever to be from Latin America. Pope Francis also is the first pope from the Jesuit order, a religious community within the Catholic Church …show more content…
Pope Francis’ humbleness is shown through his simple choice of clothing. Francis opts out of traditional clothing and instead looks plain. He chooses to wear plainer items not typically included in the pontiff’s regalia, or emblems that symbolize royalty. Instead of the official gold piscatory ring, traditionally wore by past popes, he chooses silver (Rainone). Also Francis “has refused to wear the traditional papal mozzetta cape, a shoulder length red cape, opting for a plain white one that matches his cassock [a full-length garment]” (Rainone). His shoes are black as opposed to bright red loafer shoes, as Benedict XVI had favored (Rainone). Pope Francis’ humble nature does not stop at his clothing but continues to show through his place of residence. Instead of the official residence for the pontiff, an apartment in the Apostolic Palace, he chooses a Vatican guesthouse called The Domus Sanctae, “That made him the first pope in 110 years to live outside the papal apartments” (Rainone). He lives life like a regular guest taking “... meals in the common dining room and celebrates a 7 a.m. Mass with Vatican employees in the main chapel of the residence” (Rainone). Pope Francis does not live above the others just because he is the pope, he chooses to live simply. A more modern tradition Pope Francis has chosen not to follow is the …show more content…
Pope Francis furthers his distinguishment from past popes by speaking out about how the Roman Catholic Church should reevaluate their focuses. Controversially, the pope has even criticized the church for focusing too much on the dogma, the set of indisputable rules and principles, and not on the people itself (The New York Times). Previous popes have tended to focus on the Church’s strict positions on the issues of homosexuality, abortion, and birth control. In an excerpt from an interview, he said,
‘We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time’ (Spadaro).
However, it is not to say that the Pope will change the doctrine to agree with the criticisms, instead, he just wants to refocus the church on other pertinent issues (Chua-Eoan and

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