Pope Francis faces great expectations

THE challenges for the church are many. How much can a humble priest be expected to achieve, asks Charles Miranda.

AT a private celebratory dinner for cardinals following his dramatic choosing as leader of the Catholic world, Pope Francis stood to make a toast.

"May God forgive you for what you have done," he told the gathered as he raised his glass and reflected on how it was his brothers had chosen their first non-European pope for 1300 years.

It is a line the newly elected pope traditionally says in an act of humility shortly after being chosen by his peers and the Holy Spirit, but on this occasion there was something in Pope Francis' delivery that attracted great laughter and applause from the assembled global Catholic leaders.

The daunting task they had handed the incoming pope was perhaps not lost on those in the room, with the Catholic Church having survived strongly for 2000 years being now at a crossroads, experiencing mounting challenges to be tackled by a humble 76-year-old Argentinian for whom life will never be the same again.

With the great formality and mystique of the conclave now over, all eyes are fixed firmly on a pope who no doubt is thinking hard about what area of his vocation to look at first.

There are many firsts for the Argentinian-born Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the son of migrant Italian parents who received the calling from God at age 17 and, after entering the priesthood at 22, has dedicated his life to pastoral care and following closely the traditional teachings of the church.

He is the first non-European cardinal to be chosen to lead the church in 1300 years, the first to take the name Francis after Francis of Assisi, the first to come from Latin America, the first Jesuit pope and perhaps the first cardinal in a great many years who practices what he preaches - that of a humble existence of austerity, simplicity and humility with only the riches of his faith and God for comfort.

It will be those values he will seek to reaffirm on the Catholic world's 1.2 billion followers.

But on his old shoulders will weigh heavily the need to address significant concerns from those within and out of the church, namely the urgent need to reform the Roman Curia, the central governing body of the global church, which in recent times has been accused of cronyism, mismanagement and corruption.

His own senior ranks in the Vatican are fractured and need to be urgently united in their purpose and then there is that secret 300-page report commissioned by predecessor Pope Benedict XVI to look at financial irregularities involving the Vatican bank and claims of what Italian media have branded a gay mafia within the Vatican hierarchy that had exposed itself to threats of blackmail because of their hypocritical practicing of homosexuality.

Then there is the ever present scandal of child sexual abuse by clergy that in the past was perceived simply as human frailty and tackled with simple absolution and moving the affected priest to another mission.

Clearly that attitude has changed and it is seen now rightly as a crime, and Pope Benedict made strides to expose and rid the ranks of these men but stigma continues and some no doubt still want to look the other way to protect the already dwindling numbers of practicing clergy.

Outside the church, there is the threat of dwindling numbers of Catholic ranks, with congregations literally either dying out or leaving in disillutionment at a church that some see has failed to adapt to the changing needs and demands of its flock and take a more inclusive view in issues including the role of women in the church. In some quarters there have been even more radical challenges to Catholic doctrine with some questioning recognition of same sex marriage, contraception and celibacy of clergy. Indeed, there already exists some 200 married Catholic priests in England and Wales alone after they defected from the Anglican church.

Around the world but particularly in Pope Francis' own part of the world, Latin America, many Catholic followers are shifting to more evangelical religious institutions that they see as more engaged in their communities and reflective of the environment they are living in now and now bogged in a doctrine that dates back to the days of Jesus.

Perhaps it was with these issues in mind that cardinals elected to choose a pope that for the first time in 1300 years was a non-European, a non-Vatican insider and someone who has had a long pastoral experience in very much the tradition that once was the core of the church and understands from first hand experience in his homeland the whys so many are leaving the church and what to do about it.

"It's a new man at the helm and everyone is expecting some reform mostly in governance," respected Australian Catholic Weekly managing editor and commentator Kerry Myers mused as he stood in St Peter's square among the throng of the faithful.

"I think it is well known the curia could have been better handled over the past few years and that's not the fault of Benedict and as Cardinal Pell has acknowledged Benedict was a great theologian brilliant teacher but I don't think governance was his strongest point.

"So think in that regard people not just in Australia but all over the world will be looking at stronger governance for the church from head office."

Myers said the Australian church was in pretty good shape and had learnt from its mistakes.

"Now its over to the royal commission (into abuse in the church) and I think everyone is looking forward to that to dig and find the facts of the matter and hopefully clear the air in a lot of the areas; sadly I think the commission will discover other areas where this problem is manifesting itself," he said.

Italian Vatican watcher Luigi Accatoli said the choice of Pope Francis showed the church could still surprise and strive for reinvigoration particularly in Latin America which has more than 40 per cent of the world's Catholics.

"The choice of Bergoglio shows that the Church is determined not to remain in mourning for the crisis in Europe but has opened its doors to the revitalizing energy of Catholicism's biggest continent," he said. "His election is a momentous step."

University of Perugia expert on Vatican governance Francesco Clementi said while Pope Francis had strong pastoral credentials he also had great expertise in governance having been a member of various posts in the curia.

Other analysts say that by simply being an outsider gives him mandate to clean up the church's image.

Robert Sirico from American religious think tanks Aston said the pope was likely to want to get his house in order first and his first few appointments would be crucial.

"What won was the desire for a radical positive message about a new start, a new relationship between the Church, bishops and parishes," he said.

The Vatican yesterday (Friday) said it was braced for change.

Spokesman Father Frederico Lombardi, himself a Jesuit, said: "He has his own style, he will have a new way of doing things".