Basic Biographical Information
Pope Francis, whose birth name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aries, Argentina. Before he attended seminary, he briefly worked in chemical technology and for a small amount of time was employed as a nightclub bouncer. After finishing seminary and teaching literature and psychology at a Immaculate Conception College, he was ordained into priesthood in December of 1969. Many years after being ordained as a priest, on March 13, 2013 Bergolio was named the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and Bergoglio dedicated his papal name to St. Francis, giving him the new name Pope Francis. Pope Francis is known for his humility, concern for the poor, and interfaith dialogue.
Why is Pope Francis a good person?
Pope Francis is a good person for many reasons, but the main reason he is a good person is because he puts others' wellbeing in front of his own. He does this in three specific ways: by creating interfaith dialogue, by helping the poor, and by showing love and support towards members of the LGBTQ community worldwide.
Interfaith Dialogue
“As experience has shown for (inter-religious) dialogue and encounter to be effective, it must be grounded in a full and forthright presentation of our respective convictions. Certainly, such dialogue will accentuate how varied our beliefs, traditions and practices are. But if we are honest in presenting our convictions, we will be able to see more clearly what we hold in common. New avenues will be opened for mutual esteem, cooperation and indeed friendship."
Pope Francis has made it very clear that interfaith interaction and dialogue is necessary to our world so we can understand and accept each other as often as possible. To help spur this interfaith interaction and dialogue, Francis often attends events that encourage or lead interfaith interactions. For example, Pope Francis attended Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference on the first day of his papal visit to Southeast Asia where the leaders of the country's major religion was there to greet and converse with him. As well as this, the Pope regularly meets with the Pontificial Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and encourages people around the world to come to learn about others' religions.
Concern for the Poor
"To ignore the poor is to despise God."
Pope Francis, a humble and giving man, has always had a heart for the poor and homeless of the world. Francis is known for sneaking out of the Vatican in the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning to go feed the homeless, comfort the poor, and do whatever he can to help the sick heal. Pope Francis recognizes the important role the poor hold in the churches around the world, calling the poor and impoverished "treasures of the church". As well as personally helping and assisting the poor, Francis advocates for the poor's rights. While some believe that Francis romanticizes poverty, Francis often points out the terrible lifestyle the poor live to world leaders. He advocates for the poor to be treated fairly and kindly by the government and by regular people who are not in the government despite the amount of income they do or do not bring in.
The Pope and LGBTQ Support
"Who am I to judge?"
The Roman Catholic Church (and the Christian faith in general) are notorious for being judgemental and unaccepting towards the LGBTQ community. But when Pope Francis was asked about priests who happened to be gay being denied as priests because of their homosexuality and his opinions on that topic, he replied with the quote above that reads "Who am I to judge?" Instead of not treating people in the LGBTQ community with respect, he clearly shows love and endless and abounding support for people's decisions to become a part of the community. He says, "The tendency to same sex attraction is not the problem... they are our brothers and sisters." Instead of almost segregating the LGBTQ community, Francis welcomes friendship and support to the community with open arms despite some of the church's views.
A Good Person
"Noun. 1. Good person: a person who is good to other people."
The quote above is from the Free Online Dictonary, and is a definition of the two words "good person." Pope Francis is the embodiment of this definition. His striving to love people of all religions, sexualities, and financial statuses shows just how much impact this incredible person, Pope Francis, has on the world. He doesn't marginalize people for who they are and he doesn't categorize or label people for their sin according to his religion. Instead, he loves with open arms, speaks with kindness and dignity, and accepts that people are different from him and have different religious views than he and the church he leads, and makes sure to create bonds with the people that are different from him.
Sources
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/01/07/pope_francis_asks_for_prayers_for_interreligious_dialogue__/1199403
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/01/13/pope-francis-speech-to-inter-religious-meeting-in-sri-lanka/
http://wccm.org/content/pope-francis-interreligious-dialogue-foster-respect-and-friendship
http://time.com/3963125/pope-francis-poverty/
http://www.hrc.org/resources/seven-quotes-that-make-pope-francis-complicated-for-lgbt-people