Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to focus on 'truth, goodness and beauty'

17 March, 2013

Pope Francis, in his audience with journalists in Vatican Ciiy on March 16, clarified that he took papal name after St. Francis of Assisi to bring values of service of the poor, austerity and peace as the main mission of Catholic Church. Reportedly, around 5,000 reporters from 81 countries had an audience with with Pope Francis.

Calling St. Francis the 'spirit of peace', the Pope called for "a poor Church" and "for the poor". Thus, it seems that the world is going to see a different sort of papacy by making Jesus and message of 'truth, goodness and beauty' central to the Church and not the pope.

Seemingly, the change in the focus of Catholic Church, Pope Francis wants to pull it out of crisis caused by sexual abuse, scandals involving intrigue and alleged corruption in the Vatican bureaucracy. Many people find, unlike other popes, Pope Francis a down-to-earth, warm and a straight forward person with a sense of humour.

He is also known for his positive relationships with non-Catholic religious groups and favours an open and respectful interfaith dialogue to learn from one another. In one of his books, he has said, “Dialogue is born from an attitude of respect for the other person, from a conviction that the other person has something good to say. It assumes that there is room in the heart for the person’s point of view, opinion, and proposal. To dialogue entails a cordial reception, not a prior condemnation. In order to dialogue it is necessary to know how to lower the defenses, open the doors of the house, and offer human warmth.″

Lets pray and hope that Pope Francis transforms the Church.