A Man Named Francis and My Theological Journey
Yesterday, on March 13th (3-13-13), a new Pope was elected to shepherd and lead the more than one billion Catholics on this planet - no small feat indeed! This pope is the 7th one of my lifetime, beginning with Pius XII, a very controversial figure, beatified, even though widely and I believe rightfully criticized for failing to save our Jewish brothers and sisters in Rome during World War II. My favorite pope is the first one I can remember, John XXIII, who was elected as a compromise and "caretaker" choice. He was not expected to live long - which he didn't - but in the few years he was pope, he threw open the windows of the Church (aggiornamento) and ushered in the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, known as Vatican II, which instituted the first major changes in the Church since the Reformation and the Council of Trent. I was just in grade school at the time that John XXIII lived, and he endeared himself to many. As a child I read his personal journal, Jour...