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New pope sets new goals

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Pope Francis has taken the media and the world by storm since donning the mantle in the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. His efforts towards aiding the marginalized and living a simple life made an impression with many of the world’s leaders, including President Obama, with whom he is supposed to meet in March.

Oklahoma Christian University hosts students from around the world, resulting in the representation of various church denominations on Oklahoma Christian’s campus – including Catholicism.

Because Pope Francis is often in news headlines across the globe, some fear his actions could be misconstrued.

“Something that scares me about the pope is that he is always in the news, which tells us that we should always pray for him,” senior Diane Uwacu said. “A lot of non-Catholic people have hope when they listen what he is saying. He tends to say things that most people agree with. We should keep praying for him to say the right things.”

The Catholic Church has taken some heat over the past several years on numerous scandals. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergolio, is the first pope from Buenos Aires, Argentina and works to bring people from different backgrounds, races and beliefs together.

“He brings out some of the things that disturb me about the Catholic Church,” Uwacu said. “It feels like he is reading my mind. For example, he says that the church needs to be the church of the poor. A church that seeks to be tender to the poor and not just the poor in the physical sense, but people who are hurting in their hearts.”

It is not rare to see the new pope taking in numerous people to kiss their sick children and  offering blessings to Roman Catholics.

“I also recognize that he is generating a lot of momentum for the Catholic Church. People who had given up on the Catholic Church because of the scandals are seeing him as a breath of fresh air, as someone who pursues a simple lifestyle, who gives importance to people who are often overlooked,” Bob Carpenter, professor of missions, said.

The new pope has become a symbol for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, which has caused some concern for junior Christelle Kwizera, a Roman Catholic herself.

“So far I feel that the new pope is too popular for my liking amongst the non-Catholic people,” Kwizera said. “Sometimes it feels like the world is trying to steal my pope because he is more of a people’s person.”

The White House announced Tuesday that President Obama will meet with Pope Francis on March 27 at the Vatican.

There are certain aspects about the Pope’s life that Uwacu wishes Obama would imitate She hopes the meeting between Obama and Pope Francis could result in the betterment of both parties.

“I think one of most important issues that President Obama and Pope Francis ought to talk about is how we treat the poor people and to think of people’s lives before thinking about oil and other advantages,” Uwacu said. “He needs to encourage President Obama to strive to help countries that are in a civil war, and to encourage Obama to be more humane.”

When he was ordained, Pope Francis refused the papal palace of his predecessors; instead he opted for a simpler guesthouse and a silver ring instead of gold. He encourages the church to be the place for those in want by availing himself to the needy, the sick, the discouraged and the hurting.

“Pope Francis puts a lot of emphasis on helping the needy, the oppressed and the orphans,” Kwizera said. “The church is a hospital for sinners and not a hotel for saints. We all come with our baggage of sins and we are accepted by a saving savior. God loves us the way we are, but he loves us too much to let us stay the way we are.”

Because Pope Francis has striven to change the face of the Catholic Church into a refuge for the sick and the needy, his work puts him in a spotlight unlike any pope before him.

“It has been very interesting to watch the reaction of the media to how different this pope is,” Carpenter said.

In fact, Pope Francis is so different from past popes that the media soon learned not to take everything he says too literally.

“At first I was a little bit concerned because the new pope was talking out of context and improvising on his speeches, and his speeches were being quoted by the media,” Kwizera said. “They have prepared speeches for the pope, but often he would speak from his heart and the media at one moment believed he was supporting homosexuality when he said, ‘Who am I to judge?’ when he was not.”

President Obama will travel to Europe in March to visit Belgium, attend a nuclear security summit in the Netherlands, and cap his trip in Italy, visiting the pope.

 

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