Hot dog!
Wow that was fast. I was preparing myself to have to put up with a week or more of 24-hour non-stop “we still don’t have a Pope” breaking news. Glad they got it over with.
John McLaughlin is the most famous Jesuit that I’m familiar with. He uses the Socratic method of thinking on the The McLaughlin Group querying his guests.
The poor guy is being misunderstood already. They told him he was the new pope and asked him for a name, and all he said was “can I be frank?” Now he’s stuck with it.
I wonder how many folks will be running searches on the new pope and end up on the wrong Wiki page?
Is it impossible for him to be referencing both Francises? (What is the plural of Francis anyway?)
Francis Xavier wasn’t “minor” for Catholics, even if outside that faith he’s not as well known as St. Francis of Assisi.
Very true on both counts. Francis Xavier is a pretty big deal himself, unlike the lesser known Francis Carracciolo, Francis of Paola or Francis de Sales.
Personally I think it’d be cool if it were a reference to Francis Douglas but I doubt anyone outside New Zealand or the Phillippines would have heard of him.
He was minor for me as a Catholic. And note I said “more minor.”
If you say “Saint Francis” with nothing else, that means “of Assisi.”
From a Vatican spokesman:
Well that’s pretty conclusive then.
Interesting. Is this common knowledge? I couldn’t find any info to that respect in a (brief) google search. IANAC (Catholic).
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Previous thread on topic: How quickly does the new Pope have to decide on a papal name?
Crap :(, now the Catholic Church political power in Argentina, in the wane for decades will receive a shot in the arm. Legalizing abortion and getting the churh out of our Constitution just got harder :(.
Not to mention the indications that he collaborated with the military junta during the “Dirty War”…
I have some bad news for you.
Are there people who seriously thought there was any possibility of a new pope NOT being anti-abortion, anti-contraception, and anti-same sex marriage? How the heck would someone get to be a cardinal if they weren’t a toe-the-line Catholic?
I assure you he exists.
I was at the book store once and I saw an older woman hand a book to her mom. The woman said, “Hey mom, I found this book on the Vatican.”
Mom: “[Scoff] I don’t believe in that place.”
Daughter: “Well, it’s a place. So even if you don’t believe in it it’s still there.”
I’m not surprised the pope is those things. But I wanted someone more in line with liberation theology and social justice. After all, there are things that can decrease the need for abortion, or the burden that unintended pregnancies can cause on women and families (education, better health care, better job conditions, etc.).
Yeah, I’ve always had a grudging respect for the Jesuits because of their pursuit of education, and willingness to go exploring in new territory. One of my favorite Alaskan explorers was Bernard Hubbard, SJ (of Santa Clara College), who explored some of the wildest and most remote areas of southwest Alaska and wrote riveting books about it. I hope he shakes things up, but his orthodoxy might get in the way.
At least you know: “He’ll do it HIS way”!
Wtg, slight drift: the Vatican website confirms that he is to be known as Francis, not Francis I.
. . . and later, when and if there is a Francis II, then the original Francis will be re-branded as Francis I.