On March 13th Jorge Mario Bergoglio became a Pope under the name Franciscus I. He is now the leader of about 1.2 billion Catholics but is he only theirs and what kind of a leader he is? Is the leadership of the Pope defined by the time of his papacy and the perceptions of the people?
On March 13 2013, about 1.2 billion Catholics heard
the news, “Habemus Papam”, or “We have a Pope”. The Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
Jorge Mario Bergoglio became successor of Benedict as Franciscus I. Among the
usual questions – what will be his politics on gay marriages, what will be the
new direction for the church, will he fight child abuse by priests – one I
didn’t expect. It was asked by a kid and as the majority of kid’s questions, it
stunt me with directness – is he like a king or more like a Prime Minister?
