Pope Francis

This is criterion number one, pastors close to the people.
Pope Francis

One of the MAJOR CHANGES needed in the Roman Catholic Church (and for that matter - all churches, no matter their theology) was the criteria used for choosing those who would be leaders in the church.

"Francis, go repair my house, which, as you can see, is all in ruins."

These are the words that Francis, a rich merchant's son and a young man in deep spiritual crisis, heard repeated three times in 1205, while he was praing in tears before the crucifix of St. Damian's Church in Assisi. (Francis: Life and Revolution, pp. 167).

And Francis would go to found the Order of the Franciscans, seeking to repair what was broken in the Roman Catholic Church (of which much was broken).

God forgive you, you don't know what you've done.
These are the friendly, joking and yet profoundly prophetic words from Jorge Bergoglio to his "brother cardinals" after dinner with them on the day of his succession to being Pope Francis.

I recently read the excellent biography on Bergoglio/Francis by Argentine reporter Elisabetta Pique, who has followed his ministry career for a long time, and who was/is a personal friend of the Pope.

Fidelity is always a change, a blossoming, a growth
Pope Francis, November 2007

With this thought (said before he became Pope), Pope Francis weaves together one of the paradoxes that all spiritual leadership acknowledges, even though it struggles with the reality.

Fidelity (or Faithfulness) is a BOTH - AND.

Fidelity is rooted in the past and seeks continuity with the past. That is how it is faithful to the tradition once given. And . . .

Well obviously the new pope has more than SEVEN leadership practices, but Chris Lowney identifies seven core practices of this Jesuit formed Pope Francis. These practices are illustrated nicely in Lowney's new book, Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads. Here they are with super brief explanations.

This past week I have read two outstanding books that jump into Brian's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR category. It is going to be very hard to dislodge them from their #1 and #2 rankings.

At #2 is Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society by John Gardner. I won't say anything else about that book, other then - deeply insightful, wonderfully written, personally challenging and inspiring.