CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- American Catholic scholars and commentators praised Pope Francis as a spiritual leader for our times, with the ability to unify and renew the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n\t\u201cAs a man who can both preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ boldly and confidently, yet exhibit humility, he looks like he\u2019s got the design for the time and situation that we\u2019re in,\u201d said Catholic intellectual Robert P. George, who is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University.<\/p>\n
\tOn March 13, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was elected as Pope, taking the name Francis. He is both the first Jesuit Pope and the first Latin American Pope.<\/p>\n
\tGeorge told CNA that the election of Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope is \u201cnot completely surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe new Pope is one of the \u201cleading Latin-American Cardinals,\u201d a strong candidate in the 2005 conclave and \u201chighly respected in the Church,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\tThe professor also commented that the new Pope is \u201ca man of simplicity and humility,\u201d taking public transportation while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and living in a modest apartment where he cooked for himself.<\/p>\n
\tGeorge noted the new Pope\u2019s adamant teachings on caring for the poor and observed that the Pontiff is \u201ca strong critic of homosexual conduct and same-sex marriage,\u201d while maintaining what he described as a humble and charitable approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tThe professor recounted the story of the Holy Father as an archbishop visiting an AIDS hospice\u00a0on Holy Thursday in order \u201cto wash and kiss the feet of twelve AIDS patients.\u201d These actions, he said, symbolize \u201cthat the Church does not condemn the person, but affirms and loves,\u201d even as it rejects sin.<\/p>\n
\tGeorge also commented on the Pope\u2019s outreach to Eastern Churches, a trait that he said few people have noticed. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis served as Ordinary of Eastern-rite Catholics in Argentina, who lacked their own ordinary.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cRelations with those Churches, especially in the Middle East, is very important, especially in a time when Christianity is beginning to disappear from the Middle East because of political problems,\u201d George stressed.<\/p>\n
\tHe added that it is \u201cvery important for the Church to have a continuing Christian presence in the Holy Land\u201d and for the new Pope to understand the problems faced by Eastern-rite Churches and how to support Christians in that region.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThis is a pope that you cannot put in a box,\u201d said Maureen Ferguson, senior policy advisor for the Catholic Association. \u201cThis is a Jesuit who is now named Francis who is also associated with Communion and Liberation. I certainly cannot put him in any ideological box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThrough his example and through his teachings, he is going to lead the Church so beautifully in the New Evangelization,\u201d she remarked.<\/p>\n
\tFerguson also discussed the \u201cglobal perspective\u201d the Pope brings by merging his Argentine roots with a familiarity of Europe and the global focus of the Jesuit order.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, the Pope defies clear categories and \u201cwill do a good job of uniting the Church,\u201d she said, pointing to the new Pontiff\u2019s diverse background, humble life and staunch orthodoxy, as well as his scholarly work and familiarity with the Curia.<\/p>\n
\tPope Francis shows us that there is not a \u201cdivide between liberal Catholic issues and conservative Catholic issues,\u201d Ferguson stressed. Rather, he teaches us that there should be a \u201cunity of the whole \u2013 that we defend the voiceless whether that\u2019s the poor immigrant or the unborn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe fact that the conclave came to consensus so quickly when there was thought to be no front-runner,\u201d she continued, \u201cindicates that he will really unite the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEchoing these sentiments was Kim Daniels, director of Catholic Voices USA, a group of lay faithful seeking to defend Catholic teaching in public life.<\/p>\n
\tDaniels told CNA that Pope Francis\u2019 election \u201cshows that the Catholic Church doesn't fit into familiar left\/right categories.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tShe added that \u201cCardinal Bergoglio brings so much to the papacy,\u201d as a man \u201cof great personal holiness and humility who leads a life of simplicity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAt the same time he's an intellectual, a pastor, and something of an outsider at the Vatican,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cMost of all his choice demonstrates that the Church serves the voiceless\u00a0and the vulnerable wherever we find them: he's deeply committed to the unborn as well as for the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe faithful can be sure that Pope Francis will strive to follow St. Francis of Assisi in responding to God\u2019s call to \u201crebuild my Church,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n
\tEven from his initial address to the faithful from the balcony of St. Peter\u2019s, she said, \u201cwe know that he seeks to unite Catholics and to evangelize the world, especially in cultures that have grown indifferent to the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Washington D.C., Mar 14, 2013 \/ 05:10 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- American Catholic scholars and commentators praised Pope Francis as a spiritual leader for our times, with the ability to unify and renew the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
\t“As a man who can both pre…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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