Anyway, today on GMA, Robin and Josh are over at The Vatican doing reports on the Pope and his Christmas message and how the past 9 months have been since he took over the job, and it made me ponder. Made me think about my mom who's been gone 15 years now. She would have loved Pope Francis. His message, his demeanor, the love he shows for everyone - yeah, she would have dug him big time. :) And you know, he's a lot like my mom was. She was a real good lady, not a mean bone in her body, she loved everyone and everyone loved her.
My family is Catholic. Very Catholic. I was taught by nuns for my first few years of school in Cincinnati, until we moved back to Canada, where I went to Catholic school - elementary and high school. Church every Sunday without fail, grace before meals, prayers before bed, rosaries said when the family got together, mass cards, no meat on Fridays, confession, the whole nine yards. However, when I left home, I basically left organised religion behind. The by rote praying and church worshiping and the very strict dogmas of the Catholic church hinder my spirituality rather than enhance it. I don't get a religion whose church so often acts against the basic beliefs of itself. I believe in the tenets of love thy neighbour; do unto others as you'd have done unto you; love, tolerance, appreciation, all things that Jesus taught and that are really at the base of most religions, no matter who's doing the teaching. I am a lapsed Catholic as they call them or used to call them in the olden days. *LOL* And I'm okay with that!
All this to say, Pope Francis is truly a breath of fresh air. No, he's not perfect. He's not going to overturn centuries of dogma and practice and beliefs and rules and all those things in a matter of months, or probably years or even his total tenure as Pope. But he is changing things. He's changing the ATTITUDE of the Catholic church. He's an extremely smart man as well as being a very religious man and you know what? He's full of love. It radiates from him! Love and humility and UNDERSTANDING. I truly believe that the Catholic church will undergo a shift in attitude. Maybe not an about-face, I think that's far too much to ask, but I think there is a gentling going on. The church is trying to become more about love and acceptance and I believe that under Pope Francis' guidance, it will. Hope. Pope Francis has brought hope to so many of those who have been disenfranchised. It really is wonderful to see... and I wish my mom was still around to see it.
After all, who can resist a Pope who loves the Tango? :)
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