That sort of leader is not a politician. He's not a member of the military. He's not a sports hero.
He's the Pope and the person saying he would gladly follow him is not Catholic:
This will probably come as no surprise, but I’m a fan of Pope Francis.
A big fan.
I’m under no illusions that he isn’t without his flaws, but when it comes to the Christian faith and in particular being Christ-like he just seems to get it, probably more than any other major Christian leader
I know.
From rejecting the luxurious papal apartment to washing the feet of a Muslim female inmate to his theology that seems more concerned with loving the poor and defending the oppressed than drawing lines of exclusion to that time last week when he put a kid on the papal seat during a talk at St. Peter’s or just the other day when he embraced and kissed a man stricken with a disfiguring skin disease Pope Francis never ceases to wow me and, more often than not, bring a few tears to my eyes.
I’m not Roman Catholic, but he’s the sort of leader I would gladly follow, the kind of Christ-like example I want to follow.
But incarnated grace aside, the thing that’s really shocked me the most about Pope Francis is the response he’s received from those outside the faith.
And I don’t just mean non-Catholics.
I mean those of entirely different religious traditions, but especially those with no religious affiliation at all and those who oppose religion altogether.
...
Maybe even more incredible is the fact that Pope Francis hasn’t just silenced his critics.
He’s won them over.
Which makes me really hopeful.
Not hopeful that everyone is suddenly going to see the light and become Christians. I’m just hopeful that maybe, just maybe some old wounds can begin to heal, wounds that too often the church has inflicted. And if that can begin to happen, then maybe, just maybe Pope Francis’ example and the goodwill he’s engendering will allow us all, both Christian and atheist, agnostic and Catholic, to beat our swords into ploughshares and find a way to coexist peacefully.
There's much more and it all should be read, particularly the comments the writer has gleaned from Internet sites about the Pope.
It really is hopeful but more than that, it's clear that the Pope is filling a void for people, filling a hole that we all have in our souls, a yearning for the Divine common to every person.
It's evidence for God and more particularly our need for Him and if the Pope is responsible for making us aware of that need, then yes, absolutely, he is the sort of leader I would gladly follow.
You?
