Pope Francis Redefining Leadership in the Catholic Church
Laura Bennett, Connor Deal, and Marcelo Martinez
University of South Carolina Aiken
BADM 371-1 Management and Leadership Pope Francis Redefining Leadership in the Catholic Church
Jorge Bergoglio was appointed as Pope Francis in 2013, establishing as the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. We selected to write our leadership paper about Pope Francis because his immense popularity in both the religious and secular groups of the world. People all around the world flock to the Vatican in hopes to hear him speak or even catch a glimpse of him; “he attracted in his first eight months three times the number of people who would annually come to see Benedict XVI” (Stoltz, 2014).
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Pope Francis has been widely recognized as taking a radical new approach as the leader of the catholic Church. He has been seen as a people’s Pope, not conforming to the typical template of a traditional Pope. He is the first Jesuit Pontiff and much of his change in church leadership style can be traced back to that background. Jesuits are an individual order within the Catholic Church who devote themselves to four vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and obedience specifically to worldwide missions (Jesuit website). They are known for their focus on aversion from self-achievement and aspiration with the goal of humble service within the body of Christ. So with that background in mind, it is easier to see why Pope Francis behaves differently than his predecessors. With that kind of mindset it’s hard to think of how he became Pope in the first place. In fact, he has even stated that he would rather not be Pope. It is that quality that makes him so authentic; his passion to serve drives his leadership not a craving for status, money, or …show more content…
Pope Francis did not become Pope because of his ambition or his political behavior but he became Pope because of his overarching passion for the Catholic Church and the vision that he has for change because of that passion. It is that vision for the Churches future that shapes his transformational leadership style. Fundamentals of Management defines transformational leadership “as leadership that goes beyond ordinary expectations by transmitting a sense of mission, stimulating learning experiences, and inspiring new ways of thinking” (text book). This is exactly what Pope Francis is doing in the Catholic Church. He has been seen as a modern Pope because he has articulated a vision that would “inspire new ways of thinking” in order for the church to stay relevant in the twenty-first century. He has not been afraid to challenge the church’s previous stances including those on divorce, gay marriage, and treatment of other religions. He transmits his sense of mission through example. In response to animosity between the Catholic Church and Islam he personally washed and kissed the feet of Muslim migrants in the Vatican City (Washington Post). The ceremonial foot washing is a tradition that stems back from when Jesus washed the feet of the twelve disciples during the Passover feast on the night before his crucifixion. It is the ultimate sign of respect, love, and
Elected in 1958 as a ‘caretaker Pope’, Pope John XXIII implemented the greatest reforms in the Church’s history. His involvement within the Church had played a significant contribution to the reforming of social, political and liturgical Christian traditions. During the early twentieth century, the Catholic Church still held the century old conservative beliefs and traditions as they continued to separate the Church from the secular world, therefore, disadvantaging the Church to a world that was modernising. In addition to this, the Church restricted modernist thoughts due to the belief that new theologies would threaten the power and authority of the Church, but ...
The Pope has agreed to help defend the Byzantine Empire! After being appealed to by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, in 1095, Pope Urban II assembled the Council of Clermont. In order to help the Byzantine Empire and ensure his power over the church he has decided to call for a military expedition to get back the Holy Land.
It is amazing how much political and military supremacy the papacy position gained when the Crusades began. The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition initiated by Pope Urban the II to regain the Holy Lands in Jerusalem from the Muslim conquest. The Pope gave a speech requesting military action against Muslim takeover to the French people of Clermont. The speech eventually propagated to other nations for further recruitment. Urban’s political and military involvement helped regain the Holy Lands and save the Christian Crusaders souls. His famous speech changed the course of history in part because its dissemination was overly successful, and assembled over 40,000 Crusaders to do the will of God. Why was Pope Urban II so victorious in recruiting people for the First Crusade, and why was his influence so important?
Pope Francis, the 266th pope, spreads his kindness throughout the world through his humility and approachability. He travels the world, supporting the poor and unfortunate. Pope Francis has served as both archbishop and cardinal for more than 12 years. This definitely shows his dedication to follow God's teachings and spread it everywhere he can.
Chapter one, ‘Beginnings at Assisi,’ offers a vivid description of the social, political, economic, cultural, demographic description of Assisi and its inhabitants. Here, the author describes the life of Francis and the situations and circumstances prompting his journey to spread the ideal gospel life to the world. This chapter is relevant in determining the circumstances that instigated a need for reforms in the Catholic Church. This chapter is applicable in my life because it offers insight on the fundamental Christian I can rely on in my daily life.
I would love to learn more about Pope Francis’s views on everything. He demonstrates what it is like to be a virtuous person and as Aristotle has said “The virtuous life is the best life.” By being as virtuous as Pope Francis, I believe that is what makes us, as humans, the most happiest.
I would like to compare/contrast Pope Francis vs. Pope Benedict XVI. During his first year in office, Pope Francis has become one of the world’s greatest social innovators. Many have celebrated Pope Francis as a spiritual leader, diplomat, and a politician. Pope Francis is a leader to start something new by launching a global campaign against hunger. Using social media, such as YouTube, Pope Francis sent his message out to elect a day, December 10th, for a world-wide rally. Additionally, Pope Francis is known for sending out tweets @Pontifex. By the use of social media, the Pope has captured attention all across the globe. Take for instance the time Pope Francis washed the feet of Muslim women in prison. Bloggers went wild with photos that are worth a thousand words.
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
He did not stress Catholic doctrine, those beliefs which would have polarized his audience. Instead, he looked for the common ground. In many cases he found it. Only a misguided few would argue the importance of global warming or the horror of the immigrant crises, violence or poverty. Humanists, Catholics and people of good will can and must unify for solutions that work for the common good. The Pope stressed "dialogue" between adversaries to arrive at mutual understanding and humane answers to the problems facing all of us. He said nothing to compromise his belief in Catholic Doctrine. The Church 's position on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and women priests remains the same. But Pope Francis emphasizes those instances in which we do agree. I can 't say whether or not anything changed because of His Holiness ' eloquent words. Pope Francis is a man of great charisma. He is a champion of human dignity, he is a voice for social responsibility, Pope Francis is a protector of Mother Earth, he advocates for dialogue among men not armed conflict. Pope Francis will not isolate himself in the Vatican but will continue to lead the humane fight for human dignity, social responsibility and mutual
This topic is very important to the type of place we live in now. I chose this topic to see how and why these popes have changed the church to fit the modern society. Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II had different impacts on the church today. Pope John XXIII impacted the church in modern society after he died with the assembly of Vatican II. Pope John Paul II went out into the world to change and embrace it. He had a direct impact on the world by going out into the world. Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII were both very good at what they did and both had different ways of doing it. Both were great leaders and had to follow Lowney’s Four Pillars of Leadership in order to become as good of a leader as they were. The Four Pillars are: Understanding one’s strengths, weaknesses, values and world view, Confidently innovating and adapting to embrace a changing world, Engaging others in a positive, loving attitude, and Energizing oneself and others with heroic ambition. It is these Pillars that separate a good leader from a great one. In the essay I will cover their back round,
Jesus washed the feet of 12 people to show that we should be doing the kind and most respectful things towards each other even if they have been untrustworthy and against your beliefs, you should still be there if they need someone, and this is what Pope Francis is doing. Pope Francis is upholding the ritual of Jesus in hoping the outcome will be that someday, all people of all races and nationalities will stand alongside each other in all types of circumstances for the greater good and we, as humans, become better of for
At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today.
“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.” Said by St. Pope John Paul II during one of his World Youth Day homilies this quote perfectly represents the man that St. Pope John Paul II was: a bold, forgiving, selfless, and loving man. Born on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland; John Paul II suffered a number of tragedies in the early years of his life. By the age of the twenty he lost all of his immediate family, and he credits the death of his father as the point in his life when he heard the call to live a life of religious vocation. In 1939, about one year after John Paul enrolled in The Krawkow Jaggelonian University, the Nazi closed the school and to avoid deportation to Germany all able men had to work. From 1940 to 1941 his holiness did various jobs, but it was during this time period that he was seriously contemplating priesthood. In 1942 John Paul II started studying at the underground seminary run by the Archbishop of Krakow, and during this time he was hit by a truck and recovered in matter of two weeks. To him this was a confirmation of his vocation. Once the war was finished the future pope was ordained priest and was then sent to Rome for further studies. After a two year time period in Rome, His Holy Father received his doctorate in theology and returned to Poland. After serving in several parishes and becoming a well-known religious face in Poland, St. John Paul II became the bishop of Ombi. During the six year time period that his holiness was the Bishop of Ombi, he achieved one of his life’s major accomplishments: he became one of the leading thinkers on the Vatican II council. While he was one the Vatican II co...
Francis was famous for his love of all creation. He called for simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. He worked to care for the poor. Thousands were drawn to his sincerity, piety, and joy. In all his actions, Francis sought to follow fully and literally the way of life demonstrated by Christ in the Gospels. He died in 1226, at the age of 44.
Saint Francis of Assisi was a uniquely spiritual man who gave up a life of wealth and position to lead a life of poverty in accordance and service to God. Embracing a life according to the Gospels, Francis went on to establish a Monastic Order, known as the Franciscans. In the midst of the political climate within the religious community of Italy, Francis emerged a champion for the poor and sick, with humility and no regard for himself. Francis exhibited his love for God through his love and admiration for all of God's creation including nature. The principles of Saint Francis are as relevant today as they were in thirteenth century Italy; service and love to all of God’s creation.