Jorge Mario Bergoglio is elected Pope Francis

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ (born December 17, 1936) is the current pope of the Roman Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013, and taking the regnal name of Francis I. Prior to his election, he served as an Argentine cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001. He was elevated to Pope in March 2013.

Jorge Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, one of the five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife. After studying at the seminary in Villa Devoto, he entered the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958. Bergoglio obtained a licentiate in philosophy from the Colegio Máximo San José in San Miguel, and then taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Santa Fe, and the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 13, 1969, by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He attended the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel, a seminary in San Miguel. Bergoglio attained the position of novice master there and became professor of theology.

Impressed with his leadership skills, the Society of Jesus promoted Bergoglio and he served as provincial for Argentina from 1973 to 1979. He was transferred in 1980 to become the rector of the seminary in San Miguel where had had studied. He served in that capacity until 1986. He completed his doctoral dissertation in Germany and returned to his homeland to serve as confessor and spiritual director in Córdoba.

Sounds like liberals aren’t exactly going to be thrilled with Pope Francis I.

From wiki:

Liberation theology
Bergoglio is an accomplished theologian who distanced himself from liberation theology early in his career. He is thought to be close to Comunione e Liberazione, a conservative lay movement.

Abortion and euthanasia

Cardinal Bergoglio has invited his clergy and laity to oppose both abortion and euthanasia.[3]

Homosexuality

He has affirmed church teaching on homosexuality, though he teaches the importance of respecting individuals who are gay. He strongly opposed legislation introduced in 2010 by the Argentine Government to allow same-sex marriage. In a letter to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, he wrote: “Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.” He has also insisted that adoption by gays and lesbians is a form of discrimination against children. This position received a rebuke from Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who said the church’s tone was reminiscent of “medieval times and the Inquisition”

Generally means open to all things politically liberal to help the “oppressed”.

There are the "oppressed" by liberal Western standards - i.e. men who like to dress as women and who are cruelly denied access to the women's public restrooms, union bosses who are being forced to stop stealing other people's dues, and rich kids who like to "occupy" other people's property.

Then there are the actual oppressed - Sudanese refugees being driven from their homes by Janjaweed soldiers, children maimed and forced into slave labor in India, Chinese people rotting in jail for preaching the Gospel, 99.999% of the North Korean population, etc.

There is true social justice and there is fake social justice.

Although Glenn Beck and Barack Obama may not know the difference between the two, I suspect Pope Francis does.

RE: Jesuits

Matteo Ricci was a Jesuit Priest who became a missionary to China.

He was a genius who could speak Chinese as well as read and write classical Chinese, the literary language of scholars and officials. He was known for his appreciation of Chinese culture in general, but did condemn the prostitution which was widespread in Beijing at the time.

During his research he discovered that, in contrast to the cultures of South Asia, Chinese culture was strongly intertwined with Confucian values and therefore decided to use existing Chinese concepts to explain Christianity. He did not explain the Catholic faith as something foreign or new, instead, he said that the Chinese culture and people always believed in God, and that Christianity is simply the most perfect manifestation of their faith.

Thus the Chinese Lord of Heaven (Pinyin "Tiānzhǔ") is identical with God. He supported Chinese traditions by agreeing with their honoring of the dead.

With this approach, Ricci was able to convert many members of the Qing dynasty court to Christianity (the Emperor Kang-Xi himself was very favorable to the preaching of Christianity in all of China ).

Dominican and Franciscan missionaries felt Ricci went too far in accommodation and convinced the Vatican to outlaw Ricci's approach. This gave rise eventually to the Chinese Rites controversy.

The Chinese Rites controversy was a 17th–18th-century dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries, first originated in China, about whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring family ancestors and other formal Confucius and Chinese imperial rites were too superstitious to be incompatible with Catholic and Christian belief.

On one side, the Jesuits (e.g. Matteo Ricci himself) argued that these Chinese rites are compatible within certain limits and should thus be tolerated. On the other side, the Dominicans and Franciscans argued otherwise and reported the issue to Rome.

Rome's Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith sided with the Dominicans in 1645 by condemning the Chinese rites based on their brief. However, the same congregation sided with the Jesuits in 1656, thereby lifting the ban.

It was one of the many disputes between the Jesuits and the Dominicans else where in Asia, including Japan and India.

The controversy embroiled leading European universities; the Kang-xi emperor (China) and several popes (including Clement XI and Clement XIV) considered the case; the offices of the Holy See also intervened. Near the end of the 17th century, many Dominicans and Franciscans had shifted their positions in agreeing with the Jesuits' opinion, but Rome disagreed.

Clement XI banned the rites in 1704. In 1742 Benedict XIV reaffirmed the ban and forbade debate.

In 1939, after two centuries the Holy See re-assessed the issue. Pope Pius XII issued a decree of 8 Dec 1939, authorized Christians to observe the ancestral rites and participate in Confucius-honouring ceremonies. Later, the general principle of admitting native ceremonies into the liturgy of the church whenever possible was proclaimed by the second Vatican Council (1962–65).

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