Five years ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, appeared on a balcony above St. Peter’s Square, the world erupted into cheers, and then we fell silent as the pope asked the world to pray for him, and offered us his blessing. That marks the beginning of the reign the first Jesuit pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century.
Pope Francis is indeed a breath of fresh air. He has revamped the battered image of the Catholic church after it was embroiled in the sexual scandal of rapist priests who molested young children He has undercut doctrinal rigidity with pastoral accommodation, opening the door for divorcee and gay.
His simplicity of life and love for the poor was unquestionable. He shunned the extravagance and opulence of his predecessors. Pope France is a strong advocate for migrants and the environment. He’s the voice of hope and accommodation.
Catholicism is his platform, his base, his home, his intellectual framework, and his native language, yet the secular world has found solace in him. He is a threshold figure who points to the urgency of faith, less in God than in the human future. He is an apostle of peace, praising all religions and condemning terrorism for what it was rather than cast aspersion on their religion. He bridges all religions, offering understanding and compassion.
In the midst of a changing world, where populism, intolerance and discrimination against the minority is on the high, the voice of the Pope remains a source of hope and a call for the good in all of us.
