“The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Cardinal Bergoglio of the Holy Roman Church, who has taken Francis as his name”, to the surprise of the whole world, became, on March 13, 2013, the new Catholic leader. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran confirmed the name of the Jesuit priest, Latino and with ideas that broke the traditional schemes of the Vatican.
This Monday, 10 years after that fifth vote, in which more than a hundred cardinals favored Jorge Bergoglio (Christian name of Pope Francis), the South American made several decisions that turned 180 degrees.
“The direction that the Church has taken is irreversible”
After the scandals of sexual abuse by priests of minors, the Supreme Pontiff took action on the matter and created the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, in charge of providing protection to the victims.
In addition, he promulgated two canon laws that allow Catholic leaders to open proceedings after receiving any complaint.
Francisco also issued the order to lift the “pontifical secret” (matters that require greater reserve and discretion than ordinary), an action that allows the authorities to request all the information they need for these cases and that are part of the canonical processes that the Church has judicialized internally.
I would like them to recognize it not as “the rejection of the Church”, but as that of “people in the Church”.
The Pope characterized an opening of the Church to one of the most controversial issues for believers, the LGTBI community.
On the occasion of a letter from Jesuit Father James Martin, Francis responded to questions such as “what is the most important thing LGBT people need to know about God?” What would you like LGBT people to know about the Church? And what could you say to an LGBT Catholic who has experienced rejection by the Church?
In the letter, written by the same pontiff, he stated that the rejection experienced by people would be recognized not as “the rejection of the Church”, but as that of “people in the Church”. “The Church is a mother and summons all her children”, mmessage that in the words of Father Sergio Valverde went deep.
“The Pope has recognized the fragility of the Church, which must be improved because the Church is men and women. We are people of flesh and blood who suffer, who cry, who fall, but who get up, no one is excluded from error, fragility, weakness. We are all called to the same mercy,” he stated.
“No one can be condemned forever”
In a speech whose main axis was the family, the former bishop of Buenos Aires called on divorced Catholics to return as active members of the church. This intention was reinforced in the exhortation written by him, The joy of love.
“A pastor cannot be satisfied only by applying moral laws to those who live in irregular situations, as if they were rocks that are thrown over people’s lives.
“It is possible that, in the midst of an objective situation of sin, one can live in the grace of God, one can love, and one can also believe in the life of grace and charity, receiving the help of the Church for this” , he stated.
Putting the finances of the Church in order
Under suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering, the Vatican Bank was one of the most important points that underwent changes in this decade.
The Argentine Pope called for the creation of new control bodies, closing all suspicious accounts and greater transparency.
As a result, Angelo Caloia, former president of the Bank, the lawyer Gabriele Liuzzo and Lamberto Liuzzo were sentenced for embezzlement.
“For my 10 years as Pope, give me peace”
As part of the celebrations for his tenth anniversary as leader of the Church, Francis asked, in an interview with the official Vatican media, “peace, we need peace.”
At 86 years old, Jorge Bergoglio continues with the intact mission of reforming the Church and with the intact request that he made in his first speech “Before the bishop blesses the people, I ask you to ask the Lord to bless me”.