Pope Francis : what every well-bred person should know about the new Pope in one sentence.

Pope Francis ( ex-Cardinal ) is a Jesuit!

The rest is so much ado about nothing.

*

Jorge Mario Bergoglio. From Buenos Aires, Argentina. A modern if poor but proud South American country.
Yes, he was born in Argentina from Italian parents; yes, he is a simple man; yes, being 78 years old, he is an interim choice and yes, he chose an unusual name. Yes also, he lived in humble quartes an not in his Archbishop palace, rode the bus to work and cooked his meals. All these and other quirks link to the Saint below but still, first and foremost, Jorge is a Jesuit!

Why does that matters over everything else? Well, for instance, being a Jesuit, Francis is quite logical. So the name stems from the affiliation. Francis is a derivative from Saint Francis of Assisi. And what an example he was!
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm

Francis loved humans but loved animals almost more for their pure nature void of the original sin. What the words of the world have left us give his rule such :

” … to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus-Christ by living in obedience, without property and in chastity.”

Add that friars ( monks ) were forbidden to wear shoes unless compelled by necessity, abstain more or less to even handle money and are asked to “appropriate nothing to themselves”. He reasoned that being utterly poor would make them more exalted in virtue and willing to help each other. The truth hidden in this reasoning can easily be verified in almost any close-knit rural based community  when help is provided to individuals and group in catastrophe cases.

Does that help to set things? Jorge chose the name of  a saint to Jesus? Not to the Church itself. It stems from his being S.J.

Jesuits priests bear S.J. as in Society of Jesus. And in his opening speech, Jorge did not specify if that was the correct Saint Francis! For there is another one : Saint Francis Xavier! That one was a  Spaniard (then Navarre ) of Basque origin and co-founder of the Jesuit order along with main honcho Ignatius of Loyola? He was convinced to follow Ignatius by the call :

“What will it profit a man to gain the whole World, and lose his own soul? ”

And what are the Jesuits’ vows? Poverty, chastity and obedience. Exactly those from the Franciscans but in a different order! Do scroll up and come back, I’ll wait. 😎

OK! We have reached our climax already. Why does it matter if not essentially which Saint Francis?
Because of who the Jesuits are! One snippet : Francis Xavier held a Masters of Arts and thought Aristotelian Philosophy? One more? When he left to evangelize Asia he brought a breviary, a catechism and a book by Croatian Christian Humanist Poet Maruk Marulik from Split, a town I had the chance to visit. If it is now Croatia, by the way, it was then part of the Venice Republic, another town I had the privilege to visit.. The book was more or less titled in Latin : How to live well by the Scriptures’ example. He is now known mostly for his Croatian lay works”

Which brings us to the very special kind of Jesuitic take on the World. Let’s go back to these 2 lists!

Obedience  Poverty Chastity

Poverty Chastity Obedience

Franciscans are emotive! Jesuits are rational!

Franciscans would not even dispute with you, period! Jesuits will argue anyone about anything.*

Jesuits are the Kamikaze of the Church.
Full of certainty because they know that knowing the World as it is does not lead you away from God. Armed with a concept that have frightened Cardinals until yesterday :

” Just lead young minds to intelligence, knowledge and morality! Any intelligent moral being presented with the option will believe in Jesus Christ.”

Intelligence leads to knowledge. Knowledge leads to truth. Jesus is the Truth. Problem solved.

Because of that belief Obedience fell to third place. So much so that the Jesuits only gave it in full to the Pope. But in full is no understatement, being termed as : “as that of a cadaver”.
Orders from the Pope are followed as strictly as certain death and as little as any other save their own certainty in Christ’s preeminence.

For the rest of the world, it is good news. For Christianity, it is even greater news than the simple fact that Francis is technically from outside Europe.

For the Jesuits themselves, it is surprising news for sure. In the near future, obedience shall be an easier burden? 😉

For the rich however …

Still, the Church balanced its wild bet as is its custom. Barely 2 years younger than his predecessor, Francis  may not last longer. Even more so for another little known Jesuit fact. In the order’s recommendations one finds up first : the vow not to accept ecclesiastical dignities?

So that it seems Jorge took his own gamble, did he not?

And if anyone wants the lowdown behind this post in one link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology
Do read this lone Wikipedia article. it opens doors to new vistas.

Otherwise, this is the Jesuit’s Curia website : http://www.sjweb.info/

Good day all, Tay.

* I was going to say save maybe Justin Beiber but that would be wrong : If a Jesuit thought discussing Justin Bieber could get you interested in physics and philosophy, he would!