The first non-European Pope in 1,200 years has changed the perception of the 2,000-year-old institution in an extraordinary way in a short time.
Since taking over at the Vatican, he has urged the Catholic Church not to be obsessed with “small-minded rules” and to emphasize compassion over condemnation in dealing with touchy topics like abortion, gays and contraception.
He arrives for meetings with heads of state in a blue Ford Focus; he wears old shoes; he astonishes members of the global public who have written to him by picking up the phone and calling them himself.
He cradles the faces of the disfigured, declaring that every human being has worth. He is spreading the message of humanity around the globe. He just believes in imparting love.
