THE newly-elected pope of the world’s 1.2 billion
Catholics is a simple pastor at heart.
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio has earned a
reputation of being a deeply spiritual man “with a talent for pastoral leadership
serving in a region with the largest number of the world's Catholics” according
to a report from Vatican’s Catholic News Service.
Bergoglio,
who took the name Francis I upon election to the papacy, was the archbishop of
Buenos Aires since 1998.
As
a shepherd to around 2.5 million Argentinean Catholics, Bergoglio’s leadership
style is said to be “low-key and close to the people.”
According
to reports, “he rides the bus, visits the poor, lives in a simple apartment and
cooks his own meals. To many in Buenos Aires, he is known simply as ‘Father
Jorge.’”
As
archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio showed his administrative skill through
the creation of new parishes in the archdiocese. He “restructured the administrative
offices, and led pro-life initiatives.”
He
also initiated during his term “new pastoral programs, such as a commission for
divorcees.”
Bergoglio
was participant in the 2001 Synod of Bishops as co-presider, and later was
elected to the synod council.
A
prolific writer, he “has also written books on spirituality and meditation and
has been outspoken against abortion and same-sex marriages.”
Staunch
pro-lifer
When
Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage
in 2010, Bergoglio urged all the clergy in Argentina to tell people to protest
ratification of the law as it could "seriously injure the family.”
Outspoken
in his defense for life, Bergoglio was critical of the government’s Argentine
“proposal to legalize abortion under certain circumstances as part of a
wide-ranging legal reform. He accused the government of lacking respect for the
values held by the majority of Argentines and of trying to convince the
Catholic Church "to waver in our defense of the dignity of the
person."
He
was also against adoption by same-sex couples as doing so would deprive
children of the “human growth that God wanted them given by a father and a
mother."
As
the leading prelate of Argentina’s estimated 33 million Catholics, Bergoglio
often had to speak his mind on issues affecting the economic-socio-political
landscape of his country.
Two
years younger
At 76, the new pope is two years younger than
Benedict XVI when the pope emeritus assumed the papacy.
Born in Buenos Aires, Francis I was ordained a
Jesuit on December 13, 1969. He was appointed novice Master and later on
provincial for Argentina from 1973-1979.
He was also rector of the Philosophical and
Theological Faculty of San Miguel from 1980-1986. He likewise served as confessor
and spiritual director in Cordoba after having completed his doctoral
dissertation in Germany.
On 20 May 1992 he was appointed titular Bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of
Buenos Aires, and was consecrated bishop on 27 June of the same year.
He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires on 3 June 1997 and
took over the post after Cardinal Antonio Quarracino on 28 February 1998.
Bergoglio was the Ordinary for Eastern-rite faithful in Argentina who
lack an Ordinary of their own rite.
Among other responsibilities he held previously include: Adjunct Relator
General of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops, October 2001 and serving as President of the Bishops' Conference of
Argentina from 8 November 2005 until 8 November 2011.
He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by the Bl. John Paul II in the consistory of 21 February 2001.
Bergoglio was also a member of Congregations: for Divine Worship and
Discipline of the Sacraments; for the Clergy; for Institutes of Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; Pontifical Council for the Family and Pontifical
Commission for Latin America.
As Pope Francis I, Bergoglio takes on the leadership of an estimated 1.2
billion Catholics around the world. (CBCPNews)
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