Leadership and the Pope

(Photo: Evan Vucci/AP - yahoo.com)

I got to take the trip of a lifetime with my brother, James, and my grandparents shortly after I graduated from high school.  We spent two weeks in Italy, getting into all kinds of sticky situations (we rented a car rather than using Italy's great trains to get around the country, which is a mistake only Americans would make), enjoying fantastic food, and being surrounded by beautiful countryside and architecture.  My late grandfather's family name was "Papa," which confused countless Italian schoolchildren whenever we'd walk around their town saying, "Papa" to my grandad.  "Papa" is also the name given to the Pope, who (you might have heard) made a historic visit to the United States this week.

I was reading an article yesterday that featured a quote from "Il Papa" that really stuck with me.  The article's title read: "Pope challenges Congress to be better; Congress continues as usual."  You can read the whole article at 

(https://popevisit2015.yahoo.com/post/129799290959/pope-challenges-congress-to-be-better-congress).  

I've read through the following quote several times and I'm still impressed by it.

“Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you.”

Wow.  What a great quote.  Pope Francis has some interesting opinions and theological positions, not all of which I agree with.  This quote, though, is quite a statement to make to our elected leaders - and to anyone who leads.  I especially like one of his closing lines: "Legislative activity is always based on care for the people."  The same goes for ministry, and I think Pope Francis understands that very well.

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis