✣ Francis reaches three-year mark as pope
What happened? Pope Francis passed the third anniversary of his election as pope on March 13. On his Twitter account he asked for prayers, just as he did when elected in 2013. The Pope also marked the date by giving away tens of thousands of copies of St Luke’s Gospel in St Peter’s Square. He told crowds that if they read the Gospel every day, “the mercy of the Father will find a home in your heart and you will bring it to whomever you encounter.” What the media are saying The Pope has “become wildly popular in the three years since he was elected”, said the Daily Mail. “Francis quickly gained a reputation as a pope of the people, and is known for his acts of kindness towards the poor and disabled.” At Reuters, Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan said Francis had the popular image of “a grandfatherly parish priest who understands how difficult it sometimes is to follow Church teachings”. But “conservatives worry that behind the gentle façade lies a dangerous reformer who is diluting Catholic teaching on moral issues”. According to Pullella and Heneghan, “an important crossroads” will be the forthcoming post-synodal exhortation on the family. It may reveal what direction “this politically astute pontiff” wants to move in. What the vaticanisti are saying For John Allen at Cruxnow.com, Pope Francis is “a both/and pope in an either/or world”. Though many of his decisions have been “a boon to the liberal wing of the Church”, he “hasn’t changed a single comma in the Catechism”. The Pope “obviously believes that evil is real, that there’s a personal Devil and a hell, and that temptation to sin is a perennial fact of life”. At the National Catholic Register, Edward Pentin hailed the Pope’s diplomatic achievements. Last month’s “truly historic” meeting with Orthodox Patriarch Kirill was the major example; the Pope also helped to re-establish ties between the US and Cuba. He has been more successful internationally, Pentin said, “than on his home turf, where differences have sharpened and widened”.
