Your say: Is Pope Francis bringing back religion or has its relevance disappeared in our society?

Pope Francis is a pretty ‘hip’ religious leader. Aside from the fact that he is a very open-minded man, his most recent comments made me reflect on the Catholic leader and what it is about Francis that gives him appeal, no matter what religion (or otherwise) you are.

Some back story: I was raised Catholic and went to private schools my whole life, yet I’ve never identified with Christianity. The previous Popes didn’t really evoke anything for me and years would go by without me even giving a second thought to what they were doing or saying. When I was a kid, the Catholic Church was regarded as quite the abomination – sexual misconduct, prejudiced views and just all-round disorder. The Church rejected birth control, abortions – you name it. My parents were strong believers but even they were not fans in those times. They still dragged me along to church, but still, the Pope wasn’t someone we really looked up to.

When my 6^th grandchild was born in 2005, in came Benedict XVI the same week. He was your average Pope, quite firm in his beliefs and also just a bit boring (if I can be so honest). He resigned last year just when some new allegations of sexual abuse came to light, hastily leaving the Vatican for higher ground, no doubt. But what happened next surprised even me – the newly-elected Pope was this gentle-looking Argentinian man! It wasn’t long before my 27 year-old granddaughter was beaming at the TV, telling me Pope Francis was revolutionary. Mind you, my granddaughter was never exposed to religion in the way I was, yet she was excited to hear what this new Pope was saying, whenever he said something. While he’s not overly radical in his views, he has spoken out about homosexuality and says gay people should not be marginalised. In my day, it would be absolutely unheard of for a priest, let alone a Pope, to be saying such things. My granddaughter and many she knows like to follow the Pope (on Twitter too!) – he’s kind to the poor and the young (remember when that little boy got on the podium with him and Francis smiled and let him stand next to him?) whilst also being a humble and friendly man. He’s not above anyone and, thankfully for me, he has said that he cares for non-Christians too! I think up until recently, religion (particularly Christianity) didn’t really have a place in Australian society…it had lost it. I feel like the church has been given a new life and I have a feeling Pope Francis could be the reason. That isn’t to say, of course, that there wasn’t strong Christian believers before this, but it seems like even if you don’t identify with any religious views, you can identify with the Pope, and I think it’s amazing.

Back to his comments I read today and Pope Francis has ominously predicted his own death, saying he thinks he only has 2-to-3 years left to live. He said this all in his light-hearted way of course, which endears him even more to me, and no doubt others. Still, I wonder if Pope Francis passes, will we have another Pope like him? One that doesn’t push their Catholic views onto us, but has a unique moral stance with slight Catholic undertones (remembering of course he is the highest member of the Church)? I doubt it. I think it would be a great shame if Pope Francis died in the near future as he has revamped the Church and made it “cool”, even for my grandchild who usually wouldn’t care for anything religious!

What do you think? Do you think Pope Francis has changed the face of the Catholic church or is it the same as it always was?