By William Joseph Borders IV
THE ROUNDUP 

Pope Francis is different, very different.

He lives the most simple life that one of the most powerful and influential people in the world could.

“He’s a simple man, he carries his own bags, pays his own bills and tells his old friends to hop in the Pope Mobile,” said Spanish teacher Mr. Richard Cordova.

Mr. Cordova said there are three Spanish words that describe the Pope best: humilde, sincero and justicia social, which translate to humble, sincere and social justice.

Pope Francis, formally the Rev. Jorge Bergoglio, S.J., became the head of the Catholic church a little more than a year ago.

Since then he has brought energy to the church and frequently made headlines for bucking tradition.

Not only does Pope Francis pay his own bills and carry his own bags, he also gave up a spot in the Apostolic Palace to live in a small, spartan apartment like everyone else.

“The Jesuits are committed to taking a life of poverty, and I think that Francis has done that in many ways,” said Max Beall ’16.

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit Pope to ever hold this position, as well as the first Pope from Latin America.

“It’s good for all the people in Latin America and the world that somebody that has a different way of thinking was chosen to do this beautiful job,” Mr. Cordova said.

Pope Francis’ approach is viewed by many as more accepting than some of his predecessors.

An example of that is when he stated, “if someone is gay and he searches for The Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Although this hasn’t translated to any policy or doctrine changes yet, it has a lot of people excited.

“I think that it was a bold move for him to not necessarily go against Catholic teaching, but open up another branch of Catholic teaching. Jesus said, ‘love everyone’ and that didn’t exclude the homosexuals and he is definitely exemplifying that,” said Theodore Donley ’16.

Overall I think the new Pope has brought a bright new energy to the church, I think that he has opened many doors and is making change for the better.

“It’s outstanding because he has said many times that he is a sinner, and all of us are sinners. I like his approach, everybody has to be treated with love, dignity and respect, Mr. Cordova said.