Pope Francis is one of the most controversial Popes ever. His views on church reform, climate change, poverty and divorce have made him right in the media spotlight. So Francis has never been one to break away from crisis and debate.
But Francis is not without his critics. He has been lauded by some Catholics as he sees himself as a reformer of his predecessors, denounced by others as a danger to the continuity of Catholic tradition and sloth by some progressive changes to the church's stance on controversial issues like divorce and LGBTQ rights, as well as having failed to contend with the seriousness of the church's long-term sex abuse scandal. Here are six things Pope Francis wants you to know.
Trust Has Been Broken and it Needs to Be Addressed
Scandal, legalism and exclusion have made many people distrust the church. At a time when the Catholic Church is under scrutiny and scrutiny, the Pope is trying to address. Francis had said that this is going to happen.
Young People Should Not Be Silenced
Pope Francis urges young Catholics. Drawing on biblical parallels, Francis urged the young people to be manipulated in the crowd.
"The temptation to silence young people has always existed," Francis said.
"There are many ways to silence young people and make them invisible. Many ways to anesthetize them, to make them keep quiet, ask nothing, question nothing. Flat and dreary, petty and plaintive," he said.
"It is up to you not to keep quiet. Even If They keep quiet, if They are older people and leaders, some, keep quiet, I'll wait for you, will you cry out?"
It's Time for a Shake Up
While Francis has been slaughtered for a long time, he has been trying to change the church's structure and leadership. Until Pope Francis, few Popes had been big change agents. He is holding bishops for more accountable for sex abuse in the church. He approved the creation of a Vatican tribunal for judging bishops accused of covering or failing to act in cases of child sexual abuse by priests.
Diversity is Important
Francis is a big proponent of inclusivity. Throughout the paper, Pope Francis has been appointed to become "princes of the church." Bishops from Mali, Laos, El Salvador and Pope Francis thus overturned the tradition of choosing bishops who are in charge of prestigious dioceses or Vatican departments as cardinals. His new system disrupted the tradition and opened the door to more clergymen to become cardinals. He thus replaced Traditionalists with Moderates as the Church Prepared for Important.
Love is Important
Just six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shockwaves through the church when he was "grown up" with certain hot button issues. Those who are poor and marginalized are those who do not. His vision for an inclusive church was a contrast from his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who envisioned a smaller, purer church.
This is a pivotal moment
We are living in a time of many wars, Francis said.
"The call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometime gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive and dynamic, "he said.
Pope Francis' words come as a reality to many of us, especially with all that is right now in the world. We often do good things in part because it's good for us. Some of the things we do are not pleasurable or rewarding at first, but paying attention to our pleasure. When we do, it makes us more like Jesus. When we are aware of our own pleasure and God's pleasure, we can only make better disciple to others. Jesus said, "By this, all men will know you are disciples: if you love one another" (John 13:35). Love is at the heart of discipleship. We can not love others without the desire to love. This is the Will of God.
From the moment Pope Francis took his challenging position, he introduced a different style of leadership. His pastoral style of leadership was Catholics had longed for in the church. His admirers like him because of his love for everyone, rich and poor alike. At this very difficult period in the Catholic Church, it is more imperative than ever that he really pushes for radical change. The future of the church depends on it.
