The new Pope is a mentsch

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

CHULA VISTA, California–With great anticipation, I was intrigued who the next Pope was going to be. Then the news came on the airwaves: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was chosen  the next Pope; and he has chosen the name, “Francis I,” after the St. Francis of Assisi because he symbolizes humility in the Catholic tradition. I might add, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. I am surprised nobody else in Church history thought of adopting such a wonderful name. He is the first Pope to be chosen outside of Europe and the fact he is from a Spanish speaking country should do a lot to help mobilize and reenergize the Catholic world in Latin America.

What a bold move!

However, it’s a pity he’s already 76 years old.

The fact they chose someone who is Argentinian is interesting; most people do not know that many Argentinians are of Italian descent; in fact, Italy has a special “Law of Return” much like the State of Israel, that welcomes back anyone who is of Italian ancestry to emigrate to Italy. So, in reality, they chose someone whose parents came from originally Italy.

Bergoglio has a very strong social conscience that I admire. He believes that children born out of wedlock deserve to be baptized and the failure to provide infant baptism to these babies is in his opinion, “hypocritical.” However, he is against homosexuals adopting children, a point that will certainly upset a lot of people.

I wondered: What was his relationship with the Jewish community of Argentina?  According to Rabbi David Rosen, director of the interfaith affairs for the American Jewish Committee, Bergoglio I is “warm and sweet and modest man” known in Buenos Aires for doing his own cooking and personally answering his phone.  By all accounts, Pope Francis I is a humble man.

More importantly, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio demonstrated solidarity with the Jewish community when the Iranian-Hezbollah terrorists attacked in Buenos Aires’s Jewish communal building.

According to the JTA:

In 2005, Bergoglio was the first public personality to sign a petition for justice in the AMIA bombing case. He also was one of the signatories on a document called “85 victims, 85 signatures” as part of the bombing’s 11th anniversary. In June 2010, he visited the rebuilt AMIA building to talk with Jewish leaders. “Those who said Benedict was the last pope who would be a pope that lived through the Shoah, or that said there would not be another pope who had a personal connection to the Jewish people, they were wrong,” Rosen said.

Interestingly, when the convention was over, Pope Francis hopped on the bus and went back to the hotel; he obviously is not used to the ecclesiastical pomp that comes with the office. He strikes many people as being a genuinely humble man. Personally, I have always enjoyed the study of Jesuit theology–this new Pope is a deep thinker.

This is a mentsch..  We wish Francis I good luck.

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Rabbi Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista.   He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com