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Comment by ilamont | Hacker News Reader

Pope Francis has also rejected some of the traditional trappings of the Papacy (1):

For his unveiling as pope Wednesday to the throng in St. Peter's Square, he shunned a special fur-trimmed red half-cloak and golden cross in favor of plain white vestments and his usual iron cross. To go pray at a church in central Rome on Thursday, he hopped into a regular Vatican sedan, not the papal limousine. He prefers a simple miter to more elaborate, richly decorated headgear.

He reportedly has more simple living arrangements than his predecessor.(2)

Not as frugal or simple as Mujica, but a big shift from his predecessor, Benedict, who "loved the pomp and circumstance." (1)

1. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/15/world/la-fg-pope-tra...

2. http://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/pope-of-the-people-pope-...

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I think it's no coincidence that both the Pope and Mujica are luxury-averse. Demonstrations of wealth in Argentina (and Uruguay, as we are almost the same country) are considered poor taste or even indecent. We even have a word for it, "Grasa" meaning "fat".

There's been somewhat of a trend in that direction since Pope John Paul I in 1978 kicked it off by downplaying some of the royal-seeming aspects of the papacy: he switched to using "I" instead of the royal "we", and opted for a simpler inauguration ceremony instead of being crowned with the papal tiara in the traditional coronation. John Paul II continued some of that trend towards more informality, though Benedict moved a few things back in the other direction (not so far as to bring back the tiara, though).

He apparently did the same thing as a cardinal in B.A.; he took an apartment near the "palace" the cardinal normally resides in; you can see pictures of it online.

There is also the example of Evo Morales of Bolivia, who chose not to move into the Presidential Palace, and still lives in the same small modest apartment with his wife and roommates.

See picture of the apartment here: http://estaticos03.elmundo.es/suplementos/imagenes/2006/05/0...

Original article in Spanish newspaper El Mundo: http://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2006/549/

Translated version here: http://www.ibaibarriaga.com/reportages-detalle.php?id=11

I'll tell you what I told my deeply catholic father when he mentioned this; once they start sending out engineers and doctors instead of missionaries, then I'll be impressed.

Funny you mention it, jesuit formation starts with a university level degree and I met one that's a professional astronomer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_formation)

Minute 7:42 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn9t0m6eG4Q

Always wondered; if there is a god, is stuff like this a demonstration of his contempt for humanity or proof that he does indeed have a sense of humor?

Anyway, thanks for posting, it was hilarious.

That was absolutely horrible. Could not watch more than a couple of minutes.

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