by Last night in Vatican City, the Catholic Church chose a new leader, Pope Francis, formerly of Argentina. By all accounts, he is conservative in his theology and politics and humble in his view of himself.
I’m not a fan of Catholic theology, practice, or policy. However, for many, the Catholic Church is perceived as the Church, or at least, the face of the Church. To that end, I want us to pray for Pope Francis. He has been given a very difficult job, reforming an institution that does not want reform.
Of course, I want a lot of reforms to take place. I’d love for Catholic theology to be reformed to better reflect Scripture with less focus on the traditions of Rome. I probably won’t see this happened any time soon, which is fine. I’m not holding my breathe. However, the Catholic Church absolutely has to do something definitive to remove those who have abused children or protected/hidden abusers. The Vatican needs to lead the way in searching for this sin, rather than letting the secular world point it out for them. Furthermore, I hope that this is enormous tragedy causes the Church to reexamine some its theology concerning the clergy.
That being said, let’s pray:
Lord Jesus,
We pray right now for Pope Francis. Give him more grace as he surely seeks Your wisdom and favor in leading the Catholic Church. Lead and direct him as he navigates the troubled waters that the Church finds itself in. Bless Francis, Lord, as he serves his flock and leads them closer to You.
Amen.