During the past hundred years the proportion of Catholics has remained fairly steady at about 16% of the world's population which has more than trebled. However, the centre of balance of the Church has dramatically changed. In 1910, Europe was home to about two-thirds of all Catholics, and nearly nine-in-ten lived either in Europe (65%) or Latin America (24%). By 2010, by contrast, only about a quarter of all Catholics (24%) were in Europe. The largest share (39%) were in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This change was reflected by the installation of Pope Francis, the first non-European pope for over a thousand years with his different, non-European, cultural background. Additionally. as the first Jesuit pope with their charisms of being grounded in love for Christ, focus on discernment and animated by the spiritual vision of their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, to help others and seek God in all things it is not surprising that his modus operandi has come as shock to many in the west.
What has Pope Francis done? To start, the pontiff has achieved a great deal by living simply, speaking his mind, promoting frugality, and working for peace and justice. Pope Francis makes the news regularly with his latest reforms and proclamations. He has simplified annulment rules that have been overly complicated for centuries, threatened to shut down the Vatican Bank if it didn't embrace transparency and reform, and moved toward liberalizing the Vatican's stances on the environment, and the economy. He has also placed women in high positions within some of the departments. It must be noted that he has not altered or changed doctrine or dogma rather he has modified the way it is implemented.
In the process, he's angered conservative Catholics around the world, and traditionalists who feel he's going too far, too fast. But the reforms continue apace, and likely will for Francis's entire papacy.
His first encyclical published in the year 2013 the Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii gaudium”, is the true ‘guiding manifesto’ of his Pontificate, in which he calls for a new evangelization characterized by joy, as well as the reform of ecclesial structures and the conversion of the papacy, so that they may be more missionary and closer to the purpose intended by Jesus. For this reason, also in 2013, the Pope established a “Council of Cardinals” whose task is to study a project to revise the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor bonus” on the Roman Curia, dating back to 1988.
Since this beginning he has published other encyclicals dealing with the family, “Amoris Laetitia,” and the duty of care that we owe to the world, “Laudato si’ on Care of our Common Home.”
Like all of us Pope Francis is not without fault, but nobody can doubt his determination and zeal to carry on with the work and mission of his predecessors who have sat in the Chair of Peter to evangelise the world. His determination to carry on with his work can be seen by the start of his “Synod on Synodality” that will come to fruition later this year.
