Pope Francis shuns grand apartment for two rooms

BBC ^ | March 27 2013 | BBC

[NoLibZone]

Pope Francis has opted for the simpler surroundings of the Domus Santa Marta hotel-style residence rather than the traditional palatial papal quarters Continue reading the main story Pope Francis

What does a pope do? New priorities Break with past The Pope's inbox

Pope Francis has decided to shun a grand papal apartment on the top floor of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace in favour of a modest two-room residence.

His spokesman said he was "trying out this type of simple living" in a communal building with other priests.

In doing so he has broken a tradition which is more than a century old.

The decision reinforces the newly-elected Pope's austere reputation. As archbishop of Buenos Aires he refused to move into the Bishop's Palace.

Preferring more modest accommodation, he also often cooked his own meals. Communal meals

Since the reign of Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th Century every pope has occupied the palatial penthouse apartment with more than a dozen rooms, staff quarters, a terrace and extensive views over the city of Rome.

[BuckeyeTexan]

It is totally unfair that you picked such a cool name 5 years before I got here. In the interest of equality, you should give your name to me. I will keep my name and your name until such time as I’ve had the name an equal number of years. Then you can take it back ... if you can convince a judge that doing so does not violate my civil rights.

Deal?

;p

[PastorBooks]

“But this guy needs to understand he is the Pope. If he is going to do any meaningful reform he will have to command the respect of the Curia. He is on the brink of looking weak.”

Jesus is the King yet He washed the disciples’ feet. The power of a good example is not weakness.

[zot]

Nope, no deal. *G* Zot was the name of my lawful-good magic-user character when my family played AD&D in the 1970’s. I got it from the sound lightning makes in the BC comic strip. When I signed up for FR I was surprised to see it had not been taken.

[higgmeister]

I had to google it. AD&D is Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. And to think I don’t even watch thriller movies on TV.

[zot]

Thanks. I should have spelled it out. In the 1970’s AD&D was a board game that used multi-sided dice and hand-drawn maps. Later, it became a long series of computer games.

[SuziQ]

If he is going to do any meaningful reform he will have to command the respect of the Curia. He is on the brink of looking weak.

Au contraire! He has to be strong to stand against the ways of the Curia, and he's demonstrating that strength in his willingness to eschew many of the trappings of the Papacy. Why should he change the man he is in order to take on some 'role' prescribed by the folks who love the grand gestures? He's just fine, and I think the Curia understand him quite well; he's making them very uncomfortable, and they should be!