Pope Francis

I could not let the selection of the new Pope pass by without adding my good wishes for his success to those which have been voiced by people around the world.  New beginnings are always times of hope.  In truth, however, this is not a new beginning, but rather a continuation.  To many reporters talk about the "firsts" that come with this Pope.  He is the first from South America.  He is the first Jesuit.  You know the rest by now.  In my view, this misses the whole story.  Pope Francis is the latest in a line of hundreds of Popes who have put forth the teachings of the Catholic Church for centuries, indeed millenia.  He does not assume the office of Pope with a new agenda, the way a new political leader assumes office.  The Pope is a messenger, a representative of the eternal, not a harbinger of something new.  It is a point which should not be lost on us.