AUSTRALIA
Catholica
Editorial Commentary by Brian Coyne
The surprises keep on coming. Firstly the shock resignation of Pope Benedict; and now the surprising election of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio — the runner-up to the 2005 conclave but one whom virtually all the commentators had written out of contention as papabile for the 2013 conclave. What messages can we read into this: that the Holy Spirit works in surprising ways? That the Cardinal electors have chosen to give us a pope more in the mold of the humility of Jesus than the ostentation of the Empire of Constantine? Or that the heavies in the College of Cardinals have given up and decided to give the world, and themselves, a leader who would not be too much of a disturbance to their comforts?
We live in interesting times.
As one commentator on the BBC noted within an hour of the announcement, the election of Pope Francis creates three precedents that have great appeal:
He’s a Pope from Latin America;
He’s chosen a fresh name as Pope, Francis;
He’s the first Jesuit to become Pope.
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