Vatican City erupted with celebration at the announcement of a new pope Wednesday, but at Ball State, five Catholic students celebrated in their own way, playing a soccer video game and talking about their faith.
Sitting in the living room of his rented house on Jackson Street in Muncie with his friends, Jacob Dungan talked about how his relationship with his friends was strengthened by their shared faith.
“Just having that bond and being able to reach out to people on campus or share our faith with each other is a huge aspect of [our friendship],” the senior information assistance major said. “A lot of us are student leaders who take our religion seriously. We lead in Bible studies or are involved with some sort of group.”
Andrew Thornton, a senior social work major, said he was happy the new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is from the Americas, specifically Argentina.
“I think that it is a new trend, in that a lot of Europe is trying to move toward the evangelization of the Americas,” he said. “It means a whole lot to have representation of these new groups and have a papal leader in that way.”
Junior exercise science major Chris Beck said he is happy about the new pope’s origin but he doesn’t see much changing within the papacy.
“It is a reaffirmation of how strong the church is,” Beck said. “A new leader does not mean a new church.”
Beck said Catholicism is different, in that aspect, from Protestant religions.
“The history of Protestant denominations is how much they change; they pop out of nowhere almost,” Beck said. “But the Catholic Church has stayed the same. We grow but we don’t change.
“Catholic doctrine is not going to change at all; it has stayed the same for 2,000 years.”
As well as an American origin, there is also another first: the chosen name Francis.
“Saint Francis is one of the most beloved saints,” Dungan said, who attends the Saint Francis of Assisi University Parish in Muncie.
The Church has been criticized of mismanagement, something Thornton said is sad, but overcoming that criticism is something he believes Pope Francis will be able to do.
“The decisions the pope makes are given by the grace of God, we believe,” Thornton said. “We do believe the magisterium’s decisions are perfect. With a lot of the sex scandals and the mismanagement it looks like there is a lot of scandal. But I believe there is a lot of perfection in that.”
Beck, who plans to be baptized on Easter, said to him the pope is meant to set an example for all Catholics to follow, Beck and his friends included.
“He sets the example — we are called to be Christ-like and the pope represents Christ on Earth,” he said.
Thornton said while the pope is the representation of Christ on Earth, he is also who Catholics look to for guidance on how to live.
“He shows how real it is his humility shows how we can live to be like that,” he said. “We don’t have to make it complicated, if he can do it why can’t we?”
Adam Baumgartner contributed to this story.
