LAST EDITED ON 03-28-13 AT 06:19 PM (EST)It's interesting... Pope Francis has eschewed the trappings of the papacy, preferring to live within a simple apartment in a building with his brothers instead of palatial quarters, and here he is kissing the feet of youths who are in detention for crimes commited in their youngest years. He is breaking decades and centuries old traditions, yet he is faithful to his faith, both in word and in deed.
I suppose that you can argue that he is the head of a religious body that has outdated and, by modern standards, bigotrous views and doctrine, but it seems that Pope Francis is sincere and compassionate in his word and his actions. He has offered to reach out to Orthodox Christians, Jews and Muslims alike as brothers in faith and hope for healing the schisms of the past.
John Paul was an extraordinary pope to precede Francis, with Benedict as a temporary bump in the road in the Catholic Church's path to relevancy in modern society. Raised a Catholic, I still have a piqued interest in Pope Francis and I see the potential for him to have as much an influence as the likes of his predecessor John Paul and the likes of the Dalai Lama and Ghandi. We'll see, and I like what I see.
Capn's wisdomNow, there's somebody who we haven't seen in a long while, CapnPatch too, with the recent influx of old-timers here in OT.