The leadership of Pope Francis

I walk to God. CW

Leadership in a phenomenon of social interaction whose “ essence is monitoring . Therefore, one could say that the maximum test for a leader is whether they will follow him ”(Castro et al, 2006, p.84). For this reason, to begin to reflect on whether the Holy Father is a good leader we have to weigh the influence he exerts on his followers, as humanity has responded to his direction.

In less than four years of pontificate Francisco has been recognized and acclaimed by thousands of people around the world. The cardinals elected him as Pope, politicians rushed to photograph themselves with him, youth cheered him in Brazil, the press has published countless notes in his favor and even the president of the United States accepted his ideas. It is indisputable that the Supreme Pontiff has been recognized as a great leader not only by Catholics, but also by much of the world's population.

Robert and Díaz (2000) affirm that “the fact that an adept allows to be directed implies that he implicitly believes in the ability of the leader ” (in: Castro et al, 2006, p.84). Millions believe in this Latin American pope who enjoys contact with people, advocates austerity, exposes the truth, faces injustice and strives to put into practice the values ​​transmitted by Jesus Christ.

Prototype of effective leadership

Lupano and Castro conducted a study in 2008 with the aim of identifying male and female prototypes of effective leadership. In this investigation they found the following attributes that characterize the male leaders: "driving ability, results obtained, visionary, having participated in feats and historical facts and honesty and values" (Lupano and Castro, 2008, p. 75).

The Holy Father has demonstrated his ability to lead, directing the Vatican towards noble goals. Among them is that of zero tolerance with sexual crimes. He separated a priest convicted of raping several children, separated a bishop for covering up pedophiles and denounced the inexplicable complicity of the Church with pedophile priests. He also encouraged a young man to report the sexual abuse he suffered in Granada.

Among the many results obtained by the Pope is the resumption of relations between Cuba and the United States. Francisco is a visionary who dreams of a world where the words of Jesus Christ are practiced. In the Evangelii Gaudium he explains that “money must serve and not govern. The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor, but has the obligation, in the name of Christ, to remember that the rich should help the poor, respect them, promote them ”(Pope Francis, 2013, p.49).

In less than four years of pontificate, Francisco has already performed a feat, exemplifying the values ​​of Christianity and being honest despite the difficulty that this entails.

Share values, interests and purposes

Acosta Tillerías (2012) points out that leadership is fundamentally “ a role linked to specific social situations, where the leader exists as a consequence derived from the interaction between individuals who share values, interests and purposes, trying to achieve certain objectives ” (p. 1219).

A good leader is one who shares interests, goals and values ​​with his followers. Francisco represents the interests of the oppressed, fragile and marginalized, and works to make them better. Defend immigrants, protect children and the elderly, wash prisoners' feet, advocate for the care of nature and promote the development of the poorest.

It is a leader in favor of equal opportunities, social inclusion, justice and peace. It exposes the disadvantages of the growing economic inequality explaining that when society “leaves a part of itself on the periphery, there will be no political programs or police or intelligence resources that can ensure peace of mind indefinitely. This does not happen only because inequity causes the violent reaction of those excluded from the system, but because the social and economic system is unfair at its root ” (Papa Francisco, 2013, p.50).

Who was in the past Jorge Bergoglio, and today is dedicated to his role as Pope Francis, pursues, like many of his followers, the goal of building a better, more supportive and integrated world, less aggressive and competitive.

Leadership processes occur in a given situation and "are activated or vital when the social situation is in crisis" (Acosta Tillerías, 2012, p. 1221). The situation in which the Holy Father develops is the political, economic, social and environmental world reality of the second decade of the 21st century. A reality marked by a crisis of various kinds that the Pope recognizes and faces. In his Apostolic Exhortation he says that the “world crisis, which affects finances and the economy, reveals its imbalances and, above all, the serious lack of its anthropological orientation that reduces the human being to only one of his needs: consumption ”(Papa Francisco, 2013, p.47).

Pope Francisco

The enemies of the Holy Father

Despite its great popularity, there are those who consider Pope Francis their enemy . There are terrorists who want to kill him and threats from the Islamic State, as specified by the commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Domenico Giani, in an interview held on March 2, 2015. In the same, the commander differentiated terrorists from Muslim believers who worship God and desire peace.

That the Pope has enemies further demonstrates the effectiveness of his leadership. If his evangelizing message did not reach so many people so strongly, the terrorists would not want to kill him.

Warrior of the light

For all the above, there is no doubt that Pope Francis is a very good leader . The Roman Apostolic Church is fortunate to be led by a warrior who is not afraid to tell the truth, who does not need to wear gold shoes and who knows how to survive in a highly dangerous terrain exposed to the eyes of millions of people.

SOURCES

Francisco, Pope. Evangelii Gaudium Apostolic Exhortation. 1st ed. Autonomous City of Buenos Aires: Argentine Episcopal Conference, Office of the Book, 2013. 224 p. ISBN 978-987-511-218-6

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Acosta Tiller as, Jorge. Political leadership: characteristics and particularities. A case study Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings [online]. 2012, vol. 7, n.1. [see May 23, 2015]. . ISSN 1941-9589

Castro, Elizabeth, Miquilena, Elizabeth and Peley, Rosario. The new leadership trends: towards a new vision of educational organizations. Omnia [online]. 2006, year 12, n.1 [see May 23, 2015]. . ISSN: 1315-8856

Lupano Perugini, María L. and Castro Solano, Alejandro. Leadership and gender. Identification of effective leadership prototypes . Perspectives in psychology [online] . 2008, vol. 5, n. 1. [see May 23, 2015]. .

EDITORIAL: Cecilia Wechsler, collaborator of the big family of hermandadblanca.org