Pope Francis is humble, kind but also firm

On March 13, 2013, the College of Cardinals gathered in Rome in the Conclave and elected Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as the successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Bergoglio chose the name Pope Francis I.

And as he comes to Kenya in his capacity as the Vicar of Christ, there is no doubt that many Kenyans would want to know what kind of person the Pope is.

Described as both humble and pastoral, Pope Francis has been known to be unwavering in his teachings and approach to issues.

It has been called ‘simplicity with a purpose: to clear away everything else so that the Church can proclaim Jesus Christ to the world”.

At the Vatican where he now resides as the Bishop of Rome and the universal shepherd of 1.2 billion Catholics, the Pope has caused ripples in his Papacy.

To begin with, he refused residence at the Papal palace, and assumed a low community life.

In his humility, he has often skipped protocol arrangements to reach out to children, the poor and the lowly.

While on a trip to the United States of America in September this year, Pope Francis skipped lunch with Washington DC’s most famous and influential people, to share a meal with the poor and the street families.

He had been assailed by American conservatives as being too liberal yet many noted that his social views fitted the 19th century, rather than current times, and yet nobody can find anything that is against Catholic teachings.

PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
Pope Francis speaks to people of all faiths and beliefs.

While in Kenya, he is scheduled to meet with leaders of other faiths to discuss peace and reconciliation.

He is a kind, compassionate individual always trying to get the big countries to take better care of the Earth as well as each other.

In this regard, he will head to the United Nations offices in Gigiri, Nairobi, where he will address the delegates of the United Nations Environment Programme.

He can also be tough. He does not tolerate bishops who cover up for priests who abuse children.

He has demonstrated that he will not hesitate to take action against church officials who misuse their offices to benefit themselves.

One of his very first acts as Pope was to fire a German bishop of ‘bling’, who had built a multi-million dollar mansion for himself using Church funds.

And recently, he let go an American bishop who was convicted of not reporting a priest to authorities after finding child pornography on his computer.

The Pope has been described as the progressive champion that the church needs.

As a priest working in the slums of Buenos Aires, he was known for attending and tending to poor slum dwellers in the favelllas (Spanish for slums).

He was known for his lowly lifestyle, and even as the bishop of the city, he was known to ride in public service vehicles.

HIGHLY ACCOMMODATIVE
As bishop and later cardinal, he spurned the trappings of powers, money and opulence that come with such high offices.

He is known for his commitment to social justice and respect for everyone.

Upon his election as Pope, he later called the news vendor in Buenos Aires, who used to supply him with the daily newspapers, just to say thank you.

Upon his installation as the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis took the church by storm by abandoning the ideological rigidity and conservatism of his predecessors.

For example, he gave audience to Father Gustavo Gutierrez, the Peruvian founder and promoter of Liberation Theology, which urged priests to be actively involved in opposing political and economic policies that impoverish people.

The Pope welcomed gays and others of different sexual orientations into the Church and famously asked: “Who am I to judge?”

He has lessened the burden on divorce and separation stating there is a need to make the procedure more accessible and less time consuming, as much as possible, at almost no expense.

The text approved by the Synod Fathers of the Synod on Divorce and Separation, advocated for a ‘case-by-case’ approach to the controversial question on handling of the divorced and remarried believers, saying that they need to play a greater role in the church, but stopped short of explicitly ending the current ban on their receiving the Holy Communion.

"HOPE" FRANCIS
In the just ended Synod of Bishops on The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World, he warned bishops of the dangers of falling into ‘scheduled faith’ and against turning away people who do not fit their “scheduled faith”.

“We are able to walk with the people of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take, everyone must respect our rhythm and everyone’s problem is a bother” he warned.

Instead he pointed to the gospel story of Jesus Christ healing the blind man, Bartmaeus, as evidence that God “ wants to include above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to Him”.

He has been called by some American media, “Hope” Francis. He lands in Kenya on November 25, during his first ever visit to African.