What makes pope francis different

Bergoglio was my guess to emerge from the conclave as pope. My timing was off. The Vatican cardinals in picked Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, which supporters saw as a last-ditch effort to reverse the advances of secularization in Europe. In Benedict XVI the name Ratzinger took as pontiff became the first pope in half a millennium to call it quits.

I flew in from Washington to report on the unexpected conclave, and in the Vatican press office I found a poster taped to the wall with the faces of cardinals thought to be in consideration.

Reporters picked their favorites, and as we waited for white smoke to rise from the Sistine Chapel chimney, most everyone I talked to had written off Bergoglio as too old. His time had come and gone. He seemed a spent force. Francis surprised us that night, and he has spent the last five years doing the same. There was his first international papal trip, to Brazil, which made clear that the future of Catholicism lay in the global South.

That struck me … the poor. Francis was a man of peace, a man of poverty, a man who loved and protected creation. How I would love a Church that is poor and for the poor. Indeed, throughout the past five years, Francis has made a point of critiquing income inequality, global capitalism, and its effects on humankind and the environment. Francis has also spoken up in favor of refugee-friendly policies. In keeping with his namesake, Francis has also made concern for the environment another linchpin of his papacy.

It was the remark heard around the world. But the nature and form of the remarks was as striking, if not more so, than their content. The first pope of the social media age, Francis was able to use an offhand remark rather than, say, an encyclical or the proceedings of the synod to galvanize international media attention: prompting a conversation about Catholic attitudes toward LGBTQ individuals while sidestepping the bureaucratic and doctrinal challenges inherent in any actual dogmatic reform challenges that, as we will see, would become more apparent later in his papacy.

For Francis, focusing on an individual element of a person — whether their sexuality or another perceived sin — is a mistake and detracts from the dignity of the whole person. After all, Francis still seems to be upholding the Catholic doctrinal line that homosexuality is, in fact, a sin. But his focus on creating a welcoming church, combined with his knack for communicating with the media, has made many LGBTQ Catholics feel more welcome in their church communities.

Francis has had more trouble when it comes to unifying, let alone reforming, an increasingly ideologically diverse church: one peopled by hardline conservatives as well as progressives.

From the beginning, the synods were characterized by extreme tension between progressive camps many of whom wanted to see the church become more inclusive of LGBTQ individuals and divorced couples and conservatives suspicious of changing Catholic doctrine to suit contemporary social mores.

But endorsing the church-blessed sacrament of marriage for their unions? That was never going to happen. The papacy and the patriarchy are outdated institutions that have caused more harm than good. And today, the Pope has proved that no member of their congregation with progressive views can truly feel they belong.

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