The Soul, The Head and The Heart

Today the New York Post published a column that I wrote on the different gifts of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. I would like to share it with you.

Here is an excerpt:

By common reckoning, there have been 266 popes in the 2,000-year history of the church. We’ve had some giants, and some lemons. Come to think of it, the first one, Peter, had a mixed record, one day bravely professing Jesus as the “Son of God,” but then cowardly denying Him thrice on the day Jesus needed him most.

No wonder one of the best histories of the papacy is entitled “Saints and Sinners.” Each pope has particular talents and some obvious flaws. That shouldn’t surprise us, since that is also true of each of us.

The three most recent ones, the trio most of us vividly recall, are all giants: Blessed — soon to be Saint — John Paul II (1978-2005), Benedict XVI (2005-2013) and now Francis.

A good way to understand the different gifts of each of these recent pontiffs might be to use the imagery of soul, head and heart.

You can read the whole column here.