As a Catholic college student, people can be less than understanding when I do not want to do typical “college things”. My faith is something that I love and I am very passionate about it. In the past three years, the Catholic church has been gaining attention because of Pope Francis. Before no one had any idea who the pope was, now everyone is talking about him. While I am super excited that these conversations are generally positive, usually going along the lines of “I love the new pope”! However, it is becoming more and more apparent that although people are big fans of our Holy Father, his message is rarely reported accurately. I struggle between being excited that people are taking an interest and frustration that they are not receiving the fullness of his message.
I first want to make it very clear that the Pope Francis has not changed any of the teachings of the Catholic church. The most common comment people make about the pope is, “I love his stance on gay marriage”. I want to be very clear here, Pope Francis has not changed the Catholic church’s stance on gay marriage. He has simply re-enforced the churches tradition of loving those who identify as LGBTQ. This is not him saying the church is suddenly allowing gay marriage, rather he is reminding his flock that as Catholics we are called to love everyone, especially with those with whom we do not agree.
However, there is no doubt that focus of Francis’ papacy has been the poor. It is impossible to doubt the love he feels for the poor and disabled, not just through his words but even more so through his actions. The message that Francis preaches is not completely new. The church has been teaching preferential option for the poor long before Francis was pope. The importance of treating people like people and not objects is one that has been an important message of the Catholic church.
Now, by all of this I am in no way trying to down play how completely amazing Pope Francis is, because he truly is a great leader and pope. He preaches his message in a vibrant and simply way in which all can understand and act upon. It is not because his message is something new for the church that makes him so explosive, rather because you do not need a doctorate in theology to understand him. He presents himself with very little formality or fuss. Pope Francis is the type of person you could grab a cup of coffee with and not feel out of place. His humility is authentic and his good nature genuine. He spreads the same message of the gospel, only he uses a tone of love and a call to action. He is not calling Catholics to change their minds on the church’s teachings, rather to change their hearts in the way they practice those teachings. This is what makes him such a role model and leader for Catholics.
