Papa Francesco made the cover of Rolling Stone. Here is Mark Binelli’e article, “Pope Francis: The Times They Are A-Changin’”
As a priest friend said, the Pope is a rock star…
The symphony (or cacophony?) about the papacy of Francis thus far is rather interesting to my way thinking. Too many like the perceived liberal stances of the pontiff and few have really taken the time to do the hard work to know what he says, means and hopes. Most of what we read is predictable, even fatuous.
In the wake of Benedict’s abdication almost a year ago, there’s still an inadequate assessment of the person and work of Benedict as the Father of the Catholic Church. I actually, I am beginning to resent the these commenters who raise up one pope and degrade another in the same breadth without knowing much. But the media people are not the only ones who have a problem with Benedict, some closely connected with the Catholic Church, laity and clergy alike, still feel the need to take gratuitous swipes at the former pontiff, having not paid too much attention to what he did and taught, how he did it, and why he did it. I really wonder how much of Benedict these people have personally read.
Francis needs to be read in the context of a parish priest, not as a scholar-pastor Benedict was.