What Pinoy govt leaders can learn from Pope Francis

Simplicity and selfless leadership — these are the things many leaders in government can learn from Pope Francis, who is about to visit the Philippines this January.

 

This was the assessment of American writer Chris Lowney, who spoke with people who got to know Pope Francis before he became the Pontiff.

 

Lowney had interviewed several people about the Pope's leadership style, GMA News' Pia Arcangel reported on "24 Oras" on Wednesday.

 

What he found was that simplicity and love for others endeared Pope Francis to others.

 

"He is trying to recapture the idea of simplicity in his own lifestyle and he's trying to send the message that simplicity is really important," he said.

 

The Pope has been known for his preference for simple housing, and not wearing fancy clothes.

 

Such qualities caught the attention of a lot of people, he said.

 

When asked what things our government leaders can learn from the Pope, he said they can learn something about great leadership.

 

"Increasingly we have leaders in politics sometimes in business that they seem to be concerned with (self). My power, my status, my money, my getting ahead. And really great leadership is exactly the opposite of that," he said.

 

Lowney's book also quoted many who narrated the Pope's simple lifestyle, including how he — then known as Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio — and his colleagues washed their own clothes to save on costs in their seminary in Argentina.

 

The pope's humility is also not lost on retired Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, who had spent time with Francis before he became pope.

 

Rosales noted that even when Fr. Bergoglio became pope, his attitude did not change.

 

"Kapag meron kaming meeting o synod kasama namin siya, kilala niya ako at kapag nagkakausap kami, napapagusapan namin ang Pilipinas," he said. — Joel Locsin/JST, GMA News