From The New Republic (Via the PG)The Catholic world got a surprise last week: Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio, a Jesuit, was on everyone's short list to become pope in 2005, but, at age 76, most commentators assumed he was too old this year -- especially after Pope Benedict XVI resigned citing the effects of old age.
Then came the second surprise: Cardinal Bergoglio chose the papal name Francis, the first time a pope has chosen the name of Catholicism's favorite saint.
The choice of name makes sense in terms of the new pope's background and is, perhaps, a clue as to how he intends to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics spread across the world. St. Francis of Assisi embraced voluntary poverty and simplicity. As the world has learned, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio chose to live in a simple apartment rather than the palatial residence his predecessors inhabited, and he dispensed with the chauffeur-driven limousine and took public transportation to his office.
His interest in poverty, however, runs deeper than his personal lifestyle. Latin American bishops have spent the last 50 years wrestling with one dominant question: What does it mean to exercise a preferential option for the poor?
More here-
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/a-pope-with-a-purpose-helping-the-poor-has-been-francis-lifes-mission-but-can-he-reform-his-church-679673/
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