Pope Francis Influence

Growing up Catholic, I have always been fascinated by the Pope. This man is the head of my religion, so I was interested in learning the history behind the current Pope, Pope Francis, and his predecessors. I was also interested in finding out how the Pope’s role has changed over time and what each individual has done for the religion as a whole.

Pope John XXIII played a vital role in shaping Christianity as we know it today. He contributed socially, politically and liturgically and was a major influence in the establishment of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue between other churches and religions. He advocated Christian unity, social justice, human rights and the promotion of world peace, and his openness to all people led to him obtaining the name “Good Pope John”.

In the United States, there has often been debate over whether the U.S. Constitution is a “living constitution.” A “living constitution” is the idea that the interpretation of constitutional phrases should take into account the contemporaneous society. In other words, practices and traditions of the government have the ability to change and transform over time in accordance with the changes in society. Similarly, there has often been debate in the religious community as to whether the practices and traditions of the church have the ability to change and transform in order to better suit the needs of its constituents. Two Popes in the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis and Pope Pius IX, have published documents with opposing viewpoints about the church’s ability to change and transform over time. The aforementioned documents also highlight other issues commonly debated within the church. Ultimately, Pope Francis favors a more progressive church, that is opento change, while Pope Pius IX favors a church with more rigid guidelines that follow traditional practices.

Known for his compassion and strong support of the poor and marginalized, Pope Francis goes against old

Giovanni Bernardone, more widely known as Francis of Assisi, was a Catholic friar that founded the Franciscan Order in the early thirteenth century. The Franciscan Order, under the spiritual guidance and teachings of Francis and his disciples, became one of the largest sects of the Catholic church today. Francis’ teachings brought about a reform in the Catholic church that changed ideas on grace and salvation of the Christian

Before the 16th century, the only form of government in most parts of the world is under some type of monarchy or church. Churches and the King are almost inseparable elite God followers as they hold the central power in their territory. However, the church’s strength soon begins to weaken when Martin Luther posts his Ninety-Five theses on a church’s door in 1517. What made it stand out and supportive by the public is the essays are discussing about the Pope’s not doing what God appointed him to do. The church is abusing their power to perform unethical and ungodly acts such as the sale of indulgences under the name of God, “…the pope coins money out of everything—indulgences, ceremonies, dispensations,

During the 14 and 1500’s, the Catholic Church was the major powerhouse on the world stage. The church became the largest land owner, giving them massive amounts of economical power. With limitless amounts of power for the church, they were even more powerful than the king himself; they had their own taxes, laws, and they even could excommunicate the king if they chose to do so. The church made royal officials fear it while also gaining the support of the people, sometimes unwilling support was given. Indulgences were purchased in the hopes that their loved ones would be saved from Purgatory or even Hell. The church’s goal used to be helping all people and preaching the word of God, but now the church was corrupt and blinded by power and money, only one man could initiate the change needed, Martin Luther.

The Catholic church and the economy is not a phrase one hears regularly. However, I am not advocating that the church join the market, rather it should address the fundamental issues in the global market, especially dealing with capitalism and imperialism. Much like in ecology, we have been aware of the widening gap between the developing world and the post-industrial world for quite a few years and yet it just continued to widen. The super wealthy are controlling and allocating the money in the world and often this leads to suffering for those who are living in a developing nation. Even when large companies provide employment for workers in developing countries, the work is often dangerous and has long hours, not to mention little pay. As a universal body, the Catholic church has the ability to speak out against this and deliberate what is closest to God’s calling for each of the nation. It would not only benefit the people in poverty, but nations which are on the brink of economic collapse across the world, including Europe. By making the church’s moral teachings on this subject clear, the church can encourage its community across the world to try and make a positive change. While this is happening on a large scale between countries, this wealth gap is also seen within a country’s economy as well. Not only will becoming more balance benefit the world, but it will support the many Catholics in the

A 54-year-old Catholic woman stated in an interview conducted on the topic of the modernization of the church insightfully noted that Vatican II allowed for “practical changes,” like “ music and singing, and women allowed into upfront roles as readers, lectors, and Eucharistic ministers, as well as altar servers in some places.” Vatican II “aimed to produce a different experience of the mass,” but also set out to reposition the church in a relative relationship with the modern world (Mathis).

A few years ago, when President Obama was President, Catholic Bishops came together to protest President Obama for “requiring health plans to cover common contraceptives without charge” this sort of thing was unheard of during Thomas Merton life span. Merton was at the forefront issues such as the peace moment, ending the social structure and race inequalities. He was also known for seeing the inner monk in everyone even if one wasn’t very religious. When he began to make noise on topics not being focused on by the church, the Catholic Church in a sense hushed his ideas by not acknowledging what he was preaching about. For most cases, the Catholic Church didn’t want to get involved in matters outside the church itself as for example when Merton was dealing with the civil rights issue. It wasn’t till later on, likely after his death, when then the Catholic Church entered the movement.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, more commonly known as Pope Francis, was elected Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church on 13 March 2013 , and since then has done much to change the lives of everyone he can for the better. Pope Francis has famously said “My people are poor and I am one of them” and has used this to guide his decision making on how the Catholic Church should change its focus to help those in need. He has done and changed much in order to change the current course of the Catholic Church and direct it back towards what it was originally meant to be: a communion of people that know and love God and pass this on the others. This brave new path that Pope Francis has set the Catholic Church on is summarized in his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii

Pope Francis doesn't want to be different from the others. After his election as he decided to go back to the hotel where he had been staying to pay the bill himself instead of them paying for it, as a Pope, and chose to ride in the bus with the rest of the Cardinals, rather than the limo provided for him. Pope Francis is the first non-European Pope in over 1,000 years. "Sometimes you need to have faith."

Living New York City in a helicopter, Pope Francis asked the pilot to fly over Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, symbols of the United States history of immigration. Pope Francis is a son of immigrants, being born in Argentina from Italian parents. The Pope made the suffering of immigrants one of the crucial points of his papacy; thus he addressed the issue several times while in the US. Lately immigration has become an hot-button in US politics with the Trump’s suggestion to deport all illegal immigrants, and build a wall alongside the Mexican border. The Statue of Liberty, initially named “Liberty Enlightening the World”, was created to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. However, the Statue of Liberty

Pope John Paul the Second It was recently this year that the Catholic world had lost its leader,

Pope Francis has condemned the corrupt people who donate “dirty money” to the Catholic Church, saying their tainted donations are not wanted.