The Papacy of Pope Francis - Research Paper Example

? The Papacy of Pope Francis By The term papacy refers to the ity and office of the pope of Rome. The papacy is considered to have been originally held by Saint Peter, who is also believed to have been the head of the universal church. Peter established the church at Rome, and became its first bishop (Allen, 2008). The pope is therefore, a spiritual leader and symbolizes the unity of the church. However, over time, the perception of papacy among people has continued to change. Nonetheless, since the martyrdom of Saint Peter, there were different bishops, who succeeded Peter, and followed in his footsteps as spiritual leaders and shepherds of the universal church. The recent election of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglia in 2013 as Pope Francis brings to 266 the total number of popes in the history of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis has therefore, served for less than a year. Nonetheless, this paper focuses on the papacy of Pope Francis, including the challenges he has faced since he was elected, as well as those that he might face in future. This paper also addresses key issues that surround the aspect of papacy in the Catholic Church, including papal infallibility, among others. Like other leaders, the popes of the Catholic Church have been faced with a plethora of challenges. However, each pope has addressed the challenges in their own distinct manner. Likewise, Pope Francis has not been an exception. According to the International Bulletin of Missionary Research (2013), since his election as a pope, he has already encountered different challenges, and is expected to face more challenges in future. Some of these challenges emanate from the church, and the pope is expected to provide a redress for them. Nonetheless, governance is one of the major challenges, which the pope has faced, and will continue to face in the future. Pope Francis, being a leader, has to make important decisions as far as governance is concerned. For instance, he had to appoint his secretary of state. This is a senior position, which is regarded second after the pope. Therefore, appointing a secretary requires the pope to have experience in the Curia, be strong-willed, and exhibit aspects of reform. On the contrast, Pope Francis is considered to have less experience in the Curia, and exhibits more pastoral than managerial capabilities (International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 2013). In addition, Pope Francis has to deal with the practical problems of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is big in size, thus faces different challenges in the form of social and economic issues, and doctrinal issues, among others. For instance, the pope has to deal with all the financial affairs of the Vatican, including the finances that goes out and comes into the church. In addition, Pope Francis has to address issues in the church, such as homosexuality, divorce, the position of women in the church, and abortion, among others. On the aspect of homosexuality, Pope Francis’ recent remarks about homosexuality have elicited considerable controversy. Although Pope Francis argued against judging gay people, but instead welcoming them to the church, these sentiments were welcomed with criticisms from those people, who feel that homosexuality in society should be condemned (Montoya, 2013). Overall, Pope Francis being a spiritual leader and a symbol of church unity, also faces the challenge of ensuring the stability of the Catholic Church. This includes him reaching out to the large number of secular Catholics and maintaining the relevancy of the Catholic Church. Throughout history, the Catholic Church has been implicated with different controversies, most of which have persisted even today. First, there is the common Catholic contraception controversy. Since the Catholic Church is known to be prolife, this advocates for the ban on contraception and abortion. This stand of the Catholic Church therefore, continues to result in a collision between religion and public health. This also hampers the smooth implementation of health insurance, with regard to birth control in female employees, especially those that work in religious-affiliated organizations. Although the Catholic Church has attempted to make the government enforce this rule, this becomes quite impractical, as a higher percentage of Catholics are considered to have used birth control methods (Allen, 2008). Another controversy of the Catholic Church involves the sexual abuse issue. It has been widely reported in the news about Catholic priests, who have engaged in sexual abuse of children. This therefore, tarnishes the image of the Catholic Church, as well as the other Catholic priests that are not pedophiles. Nonetheless, a large blame for this issue is put on the Catholic condition of celibacy for priests (Allen, 2008). Another major controversy that exists in the Catholic Church involves the Catholic perceptions of homosexuality. The Catholic teaches that homosexual people must be treated in a respectful manner, and sensitivity, and condemns any acts of violence or discrimination toward homosexuals. However, the Catholic Church regards homosexuality and other sexual activities outside marriage as immoral and sinful (Montoya, 2013). Nonetheless, the Catholic Church is expected to emphasize its doctrine with the guidance of the pope, regardless of the controversies the doctrines raise. However, the vices in the church also need to be shunned, with the help of the pope, as the pope has to spearhead the insistence on the practice of Catholicism. Papacy today highly connects with the role of Saint Peter, who is considered to have been the first pope of the church. In the Bible, Jesus promised to build His church on Peter, to whom the keys to the kingdom of heaven were handed. Therefore, the major role of Saint Peter was to ensure the establishment of the church, as well as to ensure that people receive the benefits of kingdom of God. Nonetheless, Peter was a spiritual leader of the church, and undertook different roles to ensure harmony in various church dimensions. When Peter died, his authority and roles were passed down to pope after pope until the present generation. In this case, therefore, popes in the Roman Catholic Church ensure the continuation of Peter’s roles. These therefore, have to ensure the stability and unity of the church, and this involves making different important decisions and having the final say on important issues that affect the church (Ferrero, 2011). One of the major roles of the pope also involves the appointment of bishops. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2013), the decision of appointing bishops is the sole responsibility of the pope, and he has all the freedom to appoint any individual he deems fit for the position, without any major external influence. This process of appointing bishops is however long and complicated. This begins from the level of the diocese until it reaches Rome. There are intensive consultations that are involved in the process, and this makes the whole process of appointing bishops to take a minimum of eight months. There is however different stages, which involve the appointment of a priest as a bishop, and the appointment of a bishop as an archbishop (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2013). Papal infallibility is an important aspect of the Roman Catholic Church. According to Ferrero (2011), this means that the pope in the Catholic Church is endowed with the gift of infallibility, same to his successors. The beliefs and doctrines of the Catholic Church are drawn from the faith that was handed down to the church by Jesus, the Bible, and the magisterium, which refers to the teaching of the office of the church. Nonetheless, infallibility of the pope is part of the magisterium, and is a dogma that the pope cannot make an error in a solemn teaching, which is addressed to the whole church regarding morals and faith. This remains one of the most misunderstood dogmas of the Catholic Church, as most non-Catholics mistake this for impeccability and personal inerrancy (Powell, 2013). Conclusively, the church plays an important role in the world today. Therefore, papacy in the Roman Catholic Church remains an important aspect, which has the capability of influencing different political and social issues at the global level, considering the large size of the Roman Catholic Church. For this reason, there are high expectations that Pope Francis performs well during his tenure as a pope, and achieve the goals, which the former pope was yet to achieve following his resignation. References Pope Francis, Christian Mission, and the Church of Saint Francis. (2013). International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 37(3), 165-166. Allen, J. L. (2008). The Catholic Church. Foreign Policy, (169), 32-34,36,38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224029690?accountid=45049 Ferrero, M. (2011). The infallibility of the pope. Economics Of Governance, 12(1), 89-99. doi:10.1007/s10101-010-0088-5 Montoya, M. (2013, Aug 04). Catholics reflect on Pope Francis’s remarks. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1417236262?accountid=45049 Powell, M. E. (2013). The "Patient and Fraternal Dialogue" On Papal Infallibility: Contributions Of A Free-Church Theologian. Theological Studies, 74(1), 105-118. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2013) Retrieved from http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/appointing-bishops.cfm Read More