Change is not an option

Habemus Papam! Ever hopeful that the new supreme pontiff will reduce the Catholic church to their level of depravity, the fourth estate as well as secular humanists, moral relativists, members of the liberal elite and other detractors have engaged in an orgy of wild speculation about forthcoming changes in the Catholic church.

Sorry, gang, the 265th successor to the Chair of Peter has neither the inclination nor the authority to make your desperately sought-after alterations. To help the curious, the critics, the haters and the faithful better understand why the Argentine Jesuit Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio chose to become known as Pope Francis, they could benefit from reading G.K. Chesterton's 1923 book, “St. Francis of Assisi,” for a brilliant sketch of the Italian friar who was born Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone, later became known as St. Francis and died in 1226 A.D. It is available in Volume II of the “Collected Works” of G.K. Chesterton, published in 1986 by Ignatius Press.

Unfortunately, there is no volume in existence to help these hopefuls understand why change is not an option.

Roger W. Smith

Waterloo