2013-03-19    John W     John W's previous articles

Pope Francis - like John XXIII and John-Paul I

Pope Francis shows many of the features of John XXIII
- undiluted goodness
- friendliness
- sincerity
- openness to change and renewal
- looking outwards

Even physically, Francis somewhat resembles John XXIII...except for his chin/jaw, which maybe soon will see him portrayed as a pelican by the cartoonists?!

Francis also resembles John-Paul I, the "smiling pope" who "humanized the papacy".
In passing, note in this JPI link how JPI confronted the President of Argentina about human rights abuses during the  "Dirty War" ...at the very time when one Fr J M Bergoglio was provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina!

John Paul I was like a breath of fresh air, but sadly for only 33 days.

All the more reason to pray for Pope Francis...for good health
...and for safety: he's not worrying about security...yet there are many people who are upset at his election...and some unstable people who might do the unthinkable, as happened to John Paul II

See Brendan Hoban's A new Pope which also mentions the John XXIII and John-Paul I similarities