Catholic Association’s Ferguson: ‘You Can’t Put Him in a Box’

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina brings so many attributes to the Catholic Church as Pope Francis I that “you can’t put him in a box,” Maureen Malloy Ferguson of the Catholic Association told Newsmax.

“It’s helpful when we can’t impose our own labels on a figure like this,” said Ferguson, the group’s senior policy advisor. “We’re forced to look a little deeper at who he is.

“And just the fact that the conclave moved so quickly toward consensus around him shows that they think he’s the best person to lead the church — not only in the new evangelization, but also in terms of reforming that dysfunctional Vatican bureaucracy.”

Otherwise, “We are just absolutely thrilled. This man, obviously, has a beautiful heart and soul,” Ferguson said. “We look forward to the way he will lead us as Catholics. Not only is he an accomplished intellectual, but he’s a man of great humility, personal simplicity. A great love for the poor, he is said to have gone out into the slums of Buenos Aires. He’s gone to a hospice to wash the feet of AIDS patients.

“He’s just a very interesting pick,” she said. “He’s a Jesuit who chose the name ‘Francis.’ Very, very interesting. He has that global vision, being from Latin America, yet the son of an Italian immigrant who has spent time in the Roman curia.”