I grew up in a Lutheran household…so most news of the Catholic church didn’t go much farther than remembering that Martin Luther put some nail holes in their door.

Yesterday, they chose a new Pope.

Usually, I’d greet the news with curiosity.  The Catholic church is a foreign entity to me…not something I have any experience with…not something I have any really strong interest in.  It would be just another news story.  I don’t have any personal stake in how that particular type of Christianity practices their faith.

All this in spite of the awareness that the Catholic service is pretty close to the Lutheran one.

But….I really like this new Pope.

From the little I’ve heard about him, he sounds like someone who maybe can do the Catholic church and possibly the world a lot of good.

He sounds like a very socially aware and down to earth fellow.  It sounds like, from the little I’ve heard of him, that he loves God and loves the people.

A new Pope would normally fly so far under my radar that the only thing I’d notice is the white smoke and the pomp.

I am anxious to see what a good man can do when he’s given one of the highest positions in the Catholic world.