[I’m not convinced that the Catholic Church is capable of overcoming its long history to become a force for good in human affairs — but I sure do like this new pope. -egg]<\/p>\n
As Pope, Francis has simplified the Renaissance regalia of the papacy by abandoning fur-trimmed velvet capes, choosing to live in a two-room apartment instead of the Apostolic Palace, and replacing the papal Mercedes with a Ford Focus. Instead of the traditional red slip-ons, Francis wears ordinary black shoes. He declined to order a new set of fine tableware from Leone Limentani, the high-end Roman porcelain company that, since 1870, has supplied every Pope from Pius IX to Benedict XVI with crest-embossed table settings. I visited the shop, where a proprietor told me with a shrug, \u201cPope Francis has not ordered a new ring\u2014why should he order new dishes?\u201d Yet Francis didn\u2019t criticize the choices of other prelates. \u201cHe makes changes without attacking people,\u201d a Jesuit official told me. In his interview with La Civilt\u00e0 Cattolica, Francis said, \u201cMy choices, including those related to the day-to-day aspects of life, like the use of a modest car, are related to a spiritual discernment that responds to a need that arises from looking at things, at people, and from reading the signs of the times.\u201d<\/p>\n
St. Francis is said to have declared, \u201cPreach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.\u201d A couple of weeks after his election, the new Pope went to the Casal del Marmo jail, a juvenile detention center on Rome\u2019s outskirts. On Holy Thursday, Jesus\u2019 washing of the feet of the twelve apostles is re\u00ebnacted in Catholic churches all over the world. Popes typically perform the rite at St. Peter\u2019s or at the magnificent Basilica of St. John Lateran, about four miles from the Vatican. The Pope usually bends for a token swipe at the feet of twelve selected priests. But at Casal del Marmo, Francis knelt on the cold stone floor and put his white skullcap aside. He washed, dried, and kissed the feet of twelve young inmates, some of them bearing tattoos. Two were Muslim. More pointedly, in violation of Church tradition, two of the apostolic stand-ins were women. When one of the inmates asked the Pope why he had come to them, he said, \u201cThings from the heart don\u2019t have an explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n