A reflection on the election of pope Francis that goes beyond the superficial remarks of most media watchers. Pointing to the different contexts that mark Francis, this blogpost shows us why so many people have (regained?) hope that the Church will overcome it’s recent problems. And that in its turn means hope for our globalising world, which is in desperate need for a strong spiritual counter voice against capitalism and consumerism…
There was this wonderful little sentence I read somewhere today: “Francis is a pope from Argentina, but a pope for the world”. It provides a nice reflection on the tension between the local contextual and the universal. The really interesting challenge will be how Pope Francis’ background context will enrich and color his universal service to the world. It struck me how much his context is different from that of the two previous popes, John-Paul II and Benedict XVI, who have been marked by the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. Francis comes from a different background, which is also very relevant for today’s world. Where he comes from, who he is, may help us to better understand the world in which we live and to better love it.
He was born in a migrant family – people who left their own native grounds. Francis is a person…
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