Habemus Papam!

We’ve got to start somewhere... and starting with Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, is a reason even for nonCatholics and nonChristians to be hopeful.  The moral sense of the world church is evolving... some would say devolving, but I prefer to be optimistic and hopeful.  Rather than focus my attention on the church’s medieval and sometimes draconian position in matters of human sexuality and gender equality, I am going to take what we have apparently got in this new leader and be glad for it.  If as Cardinal he had declared support for gender equality in all human activities, including church government, and if he had declared same sex love relationships, including marriage, to be worthy of church and civil approval, he most certainly would not have been elected to be the Pope; so we’ll be encouraged that the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics is a humble man committed to doing what is right even for (especially for) those who are the poorest among us.  That’s a very good place to start.