UNITED STATES
Verdict
Marcia A. Hamilton
The new Roman Catholic Pope, formerly Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, chose the name Francis. It is the first time a Pope has chosen that name, and it is instructive to examine the Francis he intended. For many in the survivors’ movement, there is an understandable yearning that it is St. Francis of Assisi, but that seems unlikely to me. Pope Francis is a proud Jesuit, is known as a gifted evangelizer, and is the first Pope from outside of Europe, all of which would make it far more likely that he is choosing the name and path of the great Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier.
Xavier was known for his extraordinary travels in the 16th Century to multiple countries, and for his proselytizing. Here is how the Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes his accomplishments:
It is truly a matter of wonder that one man in the short space of ten years (6 May, 1542 – 2 December, 1552) could have visited so many countries, traversed so many seas, preached the Gospel to so many nations, and converted so many infidels. The incomparable apostolic zeal which animated him, and the stupendous miracles which God wrought through him, explain this marvel, which has no equal elsewhere. The list of the principal miracles may be found in the Bull of canonization. St. Francis Xavier is considered the greatest missionary since the time of the Apostles, and the zeal he displayed, the wonderful miracles he performed, and the great number of souls he brought to the light of true Faith, entitle him to this distinction.
This is the profile of a man who would labor to expand the power and reach of the Church, and would travel the world to do so. By choosing St. Francis Xavier, the Pope (and likely the conclave as well) are pointing to the global reach of the Church, and the need for outreach and mission work across the globe. By contrast, St. Francis Assisi was a gentle, loving man who venerated poverty and the poverty-stricken; ministered to all beings, including the smallest animals; and was never ordained as a priest. For the survivors of clergy child sex abuse, he can be a symbol of safety and peace, and, even more importantly, someone who was not a part of the machinery of the Church. While Pope Francis has been an advocate for the poor in Argentina, he has been very much an insider, who, sadly, was part of the Argentinian Church when it apparently cooperated with the brutal national government of the 1970s.
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