Habent Papa

I have so much stored up over the last ten days of reading, reflecting, crying, laughing, huddling under blankets to stay warm in our apartment, and now, today: finally Spring in Des Moines!  I am so thankful for seasons in the MidWest and the hope that Spring brings of new life and pleasant walks & runs out-of-doors.

Yesterday, I turned on ABC (our one channel, currently) to see what bland programming was on at 1pm on a weekday as I ate some left-over chili.  I was surprised to see live television coverage in Rome.  I think I turned it on about two minutes after the smoke started rising from St Peter's, and I held on till the end of the Pope's address.  This event, which I previously would have thought, "Hmm, that's interesting," and moved on from rather quickly, instead captured my attention, largely due to my Church history reading of late.  

I finally have the context for how this momentous event in Rome in 2013 came to have world-wide significance, though not without controversy (with disagreements of their supremacy through the centuries, not just with the Reformers in the 16th C.).  Although I am in the camp of Christians throughout the world who decline to follow the Bishop of Rome as their supreme authority, I was overcome with a sense of Pope Francis' newfound responsibility and breadth of influence, and thankful and expectant for how his papacy may affect Latin America.  I drank my Argentine mate today, well aware that the newly christened Pope probably engages in the same delightful beverage daily!  After spending the summer of 2005 in Buenos Aires, I was generally impressed with a darkness around the city. I believe a huge reason for that was that the churches, Catholic and Protestant alike, seemed to be in decline and largely irrelevant to the culture.  I do wonder whether a genuine return to (or first acquaintance with) Christ will occur in greater numbers in Argentina due to Cardinal Bergoglio's new role. 

I feel like, to round out some of these thoughts, I should share some of the historical context I've gleaned from my studies so far.  That will have to be for another day.  Tune in next time...