"The Pope is a New concept for me"

Justine Vessey

I was baptized and brought up in the United Church. 2 and a half years ago I was introduced to the Catholic Church and will be confirmed into the Church this Easter (2017). The Pope is a new concept for me, I only really became aware of him when I was introduced to the Catholic Church and there have been a lot of people around me who have spoken critically about Pope Francis, but I've mostly just taken all the information in and appreciated the position that the Pope holds. I think Pope Francis has to be careful about how he says some things and his articulation, but I think his overall ideas are great and he's doing a great job in such a demanding position. If I met Pope Francis I would definitely thank him for fulfilling the immense expectations that are involved in being the Pope and for unapologetically proclaiming the Truth.

Pope Francis is known to be very candid and as he is such a well known character, the media and public at large are often reiterating what he has to say and twisting it slightly which is why some may say he needs to be more careful about what he says. For example, in 2013 Pope Francis was misrepresented when he said “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone!” "Father, the atheists?" “Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class!” It was taken by the media to say atheists can go to heaven if only they are good people instead of the original which explains the mercy of God redeems us all and that God’s mercy is for everyone. The media will take what sounds the most sensational in order to get more reads and run with it which can lead to the mainstream view of Pope Francis being slightly different from what he is really trying to say while still proclaiming the Truth.