Pope Francis: A different kind of leadership

Lest my recent columns convey the impression that I hold out little hope for transformational leadership ever happening in our country, because of the arid landscape presented by our national politics, I will shift terrain and theme today by tackling the inspiring and promising change now taking place in the Roman Catholic Church, as a result of the election of Pope Francis as the new pontiff on March 13 last year.

If ever there was a transformational leader among us (Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela are other examples that come to mind), Pope Francis is surely one, even judging solely by his impact after a little over nine months in office.