<p>“And the first EVER pope from outside of Europe!”</p>
<p>Nope. Victor I was from Africa. Militiade and Gelasius, while born in Rome, were born in African families.</p>
<p>But, it would appear he is the first EVER pope with one lung.</p>
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<p>From all the articles you read today, I am sure some will also mention that after the priests’ imprisonment, Bergoglio worked behind the scenes for their release; his intercession with dictator Jorge Rafael Videla on their behalf may have saved their lives. Or that Bergoglio often sheltered people from the dictatorship on church property, and on one occasion gave his identity papers to a man who looked like him, to enable the recipient to flee Argentina.</p>
<p>I wonder why you chose to omit this information as well.</p>
<p>^^
Do you really wonder why this information was omitted? I really hope this thread doesn’t go in the direction of the earlier one concerning Pope Benedict’s stepping down but sadly, I’m not optimistic.</p>
<p>I agree. Up till then, we were so excited and optimistic. Let’s be positive.</p>
<p>As a non-practicing Catholic HS grad, I was quite surprised to find myself tearing up during Pope Francesco’s address. And at the mall, no less! I am hopeful for Catholics around the world.</p>
<p>I LOVE being a catholic today 
such a great day of joy, and so sunny and warm in my part of the woods </p>
<p>@ mini - noted, but who cares, there hasn’t been a pope from outside of Europe in modern times!</p>
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<p>First of all, none of the articles I read earlier today discussed any of that. Most were written at the time the accusations were made, and the lawsuit against him was filed, and described those allegations; some others included an article in the Catholic Reporter and one in The Guardian that didn’t really address his actions in any great detail. </p>
<p>So I “chose” to omit nothing – unlike you, who omitted the fact that I specifically said that I had “no idea” whether or not the allegations are true. In any event, so far as I can tell, BOTH the accusations and defenses consist of allegations, and I still have no idea what is or isn’t true about his conduct. Personally, I would prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least in that regard. I have an elderly cousin who’s been living in Buenos Aires since 1936, when she and her parents fled there from Nazi Germany, and plan to email her to ask her opinion of him, particularly in terms of what his relations were with the Argentinian Jewish community during the dictatorship. </p>
<p>If I were really interested in a political argument, I would have been more specific about his known positions on certain social issues, and stated what I think of those positions. You will notice that I didn’t do that. Because there’s no point in trying to have such a conversation here.</p>
<p>However, a lot of other people said positive things about him, clearly based on no more factual information that I had – even characterizing the Jesuit order as being known for being “liberal,” something that clearly isn’t true of this particular person – and said what they had read he was known for, in entirely positive terms. That’s OK, but mentioning what the subject of much of the press coverage was today is furthering some sort of inappropriate agenda? Please. And please keep in mind that to suggest that only positive things should be said about him is itself taking a very clear political position. If what the Pope said and did had no relevance to anyone who isn’t Roman Catholic, it wouldn’t matter. But obviously that isn’t the case.</p>
<p>I am not Catholic , but I was glued to the news today because I admire the history and process of it all. I was upset to read negative comments on a couple social media sites and websites I frequent.</p>
<p>By the way, it’s not clear yet which St. Francis he named himself after – maybe the one everyone seems to be assuming, maybe the famous Jesuit St. Francis Xavier, maybe both? See</p>
<p>[Pope</a> Francis: What’s Behind the Name | NBC 10 Philadelphia](<a href=“Pope Francis: What’s Behind the Name – NBC10 Philadelphia”>Pope Francis: What’s Behind the Name – NBC10 Philadelphia)</p>
<p>I was driving over 100 miles away from home and I happened to be nearly at the exact same spot on the interstate that I was when Pope Benedict was elected. Very wierd. lol</p>
<p>Habemus Papam!</p>
<p>wow that was fast. the only way this could have been faster was if they updated via twitter updates.</p>
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<p>Because people should never have negative comments about this or because you disagreed? Genuinely curious.</p>
<p>I have a question that is a serious question (and not meant to be snarky or disrespectful). I’ve read that Jesuits take a vow of poverty, and that the new pope honored that vow during his life as a cardinal. But a vow of poverty seems totally inconsistent with being pope, no matter how much he is able to scale down. Any thoughts on how these two concepts reconcile? Does being elected pope (which is believed to be the will of the Holy Spirit) somehow trump or override the earlier vow of poverty?</p>
<p>PS To clarify my previous question about Jesuits and the vow of poverty, most priests DO NOT take a vow of poverty so this wouldn’t ordinarily come up.</p>
<p>Right…most priests (Diocesan) do NOT take a vow of poverty. Diocesan priests can own property, have investments, keep what they earn, inherit from parents, etc.</p>
<p>Most/all “order” priests (like Jesuits) take a vow of poverty. That does not mean that they have to live in poverty. That just means that they don’t own anything of value. If they write a book, the profits go to the order, not to the priest. If their families leave them wealth in their wills, the money goes to the order.</p>
<p>Order priests can own clothes, books, etc. But not cars, homes, etc. those are owned by their order.</p>
<p>So, a Jesuit priest can be pope and not be in violation of his vow. He won’t “own” the Vatican, etc.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned above that Pope Francis only has one lung. I haven’t seen that anywhere else. Has that been verified? What happened?</p>
<p>I read it too…about the one lung.</p>
<p>He had an infection when he was a teenager.</p>
<p>I don’t see this guy being any better than the last, but it’s refreshing I guess.</p>
<p>If anyone thinks the cardinals would elect someone who was liberal on CERTAIN ISSUES, that just wasn’t going to happen. They weren’t going to elect a woman either. So then you look at the other factors.</p>