Jorge Bergoglio

The Pope Who Became Man

- Joel Jason

In the conclave of March 2013, tasked with the responsibility of electing the next Pope to succeed the newly resigned Pope Benedict XVI, our very own Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was considered to be a papabile, a contender to be elected pope. When asked in an interview whether he thought he would be elected, Cardinal Chito clarified: “It was clear to me that the task of the cardinals is to elect a new pope and not to have yourself be elected pope.” The media then was treating the election of the pope in the manner of a political election or a popularity contest. Remember that “Tagle for Pope” jingle set to the music of YMCA? Or that picture of Cardinal Chito being circulated on Facebook with the tagline, “Like if you want Cardinal Chito to be Pope.”

With Pope Francis, the papacy was brought as near as it could be . . . within man’s reach.

A servant of God is not a professional in the sense of a career person. In the words of Paul, he is “an administrator of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1). In simpler words, he is a steward. A steward is not self-appointed; he is called. God’s steward, most especially, is chosen not by political machinations nor popularity.