Full text: What Pope Francis said in his first speech as pontiff

[struggle4progress]

26. The line about the Bishop of Rome is not only amusing, it might signal

something about his outreach to the non-Roman-Catholic world. The question of the primacy of the Roman See has been an issue since the old schism between the Eastern and Western churches, and the question has also been an issue for some protestant denominations since the Reformation era splits. Many people of other sects have said, over the intervening years, that they were prepared to recognize the pope as Bishop of Rome, even if they were unprepared to accept far more sweeping claims of Roman authority. By expressing surprise that the conclave reached so far abroad when choosing the Bishop of Rome, he seems to have had some gentle fun with these old disputes. It rather reminds me of that lovely line from John XXII, "The Pope is infallible only when he speaks ex cathedra, but I will never speak ex cathedra." I am hoping Francis will wield his influence with real pastoral grace