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Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Latin American pope and Jesuit in history on March 13, 2013. In this decade at the head of the Catholic Church, the pontiff has led an attempt to modernize this institution through reforms. Changes that internally have been historic, but for many they are still insufficient. His greatest challenges have been the fight against pedophilia, the economic transparency of the Vatican and the fight not to lose more faithful in Latin America, the main niche of Catholics in the world.
On March 13, 2013, it was announced that Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Unprecedented news, since Francisco – as he wanted to make himself known to the world – would be the first pontiff in the history of Latin American origin and who, in addition, belonged to the Jesuit congregation.
His appointment occurred under unusual circumstances, since his predecessor, Benedict XVI, had not died, but had decided to be the first to resign from his position in the history of the Church.
Bergoglio had in front a battery of challenges necessary to address in the short term, for which the ecclesiastical bosom had considered it fortuitous to appoint a progressive and reformist pope. Someone close to the people who, in addition, had a direct link with the continent where the largest number of faithful live: Latin America.
The papacy of austerity and closeness to the periphery
Francisco arrived, from the beginning, with a critical discourse towards the ecclesiastical elites and their comforts. Since his time as a priest in Argentina, Bergoglio was characterized by having a marked social character in which one of his flags was the defense of the poor and the most needy social classes. And this speech materialized in the austerity that he imposed with his arrival at the Vatican dome, by having gestures such as renouncing his official house and the papal car.
This speech of austerity it went hand in hand with the denunciation of extreme situations that millions of people were forced to live, especially in the poorest countries.
Francis has defended the need for migrants to flee their homes in search of a better life and has rejected the policies of some European nations and the United States to tighten border controls. For example, one of his first trips as pontiff was to the island of Lampedusa, in Italy, the scene of one of the biggest migration crises in recent history.
In addition, the current pope has been characterized by being active in international travel. In 10 years he has visited 59 countries and has favored nations in the Americas, the Middle East or Africa on these trips, even though they did not have significant Catholic representation among their population. Francis has prioritized interreligious dialogue with other faiths, especially Islam.
However, the appointment of Francis and his efforts to focus on the popular classes of Latin America have not stopped the bleeding of believers on this continent.
The region was one of the priorities of the Catholic Church in the face of the exponential growth of evangelical churches, which in recent decades have attracted millions of faithful thanks to their social work in marginal neighborhoods and prisons.
The objective was to remove Catholic priests from the large churches in the center of the cities and bring them to the neighborhoods, but 10 years later the situation does not seem to have changed. To the point that several Central American countries have ceased to be predominantly Catholic and Brazil, the great Catholic bastion, could cease to be so in the next decade.
Reforms within the Church, without addressing key issues
Francis has also organized reforms within the Vatican power. For eight years he was in charge of leading the process of renewing the pontifical constitution, until it was approved in March 2022. The Supreme Pontiff has modified the composition and functions of the Roman Curia and has undertaken a series of unprecedented reforms in terms of economic transparency in the Vatican.
Changes that, however, have not been as significant in other areas. During his papacy, the calls for women to become priestesses have not been heeded, nor has marriage been accepted for homosexual believers. These issues have led Pope Francis to face the threat of a possible schism due to the issue of the German Synodal Path, a faction of the German Catholic Church that defended gay marriage, the inclusion of women in the clergy and the end of celibacy. .
This Synodal Path occurred after hundreds of cases of sexual abuse were uncovered in Germany in 2018, an issue that encouraged the need to make profound changes. However, despite the fact that in November 2022 he held a secret meeting with them, Francis rejected any possibility that the end of celibacy and the acceptance of homosexuality within the Church would end the wave of sexual abuse of minors. .
The current pope has also maintained classic Church positions regarding the condemnation of abortion and euthanasia, practices that the pontiff calls the “politics of death.” Bergoglio also opposes the use of condoms, unless people have sexual diseases.
Frontal rejection of sexual abuse of minors
His biggest discursive change has been around the persecution of sexual abuse in the Church, especially in recent years. Francis has asked for forgiveness in the name of Catholicism and has recognized serious errors on his part when it comes to not initiating proceedings against thousands of priests and priests accused of abusing minors. Cases in Ireland, Chile, France, Germany, Canada and the United States have shaken public opinion.
In February 2019, Francisco began an anti-pedophile summit in which some issues never before discussed in the Church were addressed, such as the creation of a commission to investigate these crimes, rules to eradicate sexual abuse -and punish it- and procedures to teach to the bishops how to denounce. However, the measures were branded insufficient by victims’ associations.
His words during the summit celebration were historic:
I make a heartfelt call for a merciless fight against the abuse of minors, both sexual and in other areas, by all authorities and people, since we are facing abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth.
But after this summit, scandals have continued to surface. In 2021, the Catholic Church was forced to apologize for the subjection in Canada of up to 150,000 indigenous children from the late 19th century until 1990.
These minors were interned in educational centers that had the objective of re-educating young people under the European colonizing model. For decades they suffered physical and psychological torture and sexual abuse. In addition, more than 1,200 graves were located and an estimated 6,000 children were killed in that time.
After the pandemic, Bergoglio’s health began to deteriorate, especially physically. The pope reduced his going out and his public appearances due to his osteoarthritis and intestinal problems. And, although he has never ruled out retiring before passing away, as his predecessor did, he has for now shown his intention to continue.
At 86 years old, Francisco is nearing the end of his papacy with the question of whether his reformist intentions are just the beginning of a new period for the Church or a tenuous attempt to modify an ancient institution.
