Comparing Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales And Pope Francis

Because the Parson in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and Pope Francis follow the same doctrines of Christianity, take similar, merciful action toward sinners, and work against corruption within the Catholic Church, the Parson would like the pope, and maybe even see him as a role model. While the pope enjoys certain luxuries because of his high status, both he and the Parson lead simple lives to the extent that they can, as well as help those in poverty. As well, even though Pope Francis seems to be liberal, he simply is more forgiving and lenient in his punishments toward those who partake in sinful action, similarly to how the Parson treats the sinners that he meets with sympathy and kindness. Both the pope and the Parson also work

The Parson is one of the three perfect characters in The Canterbury Tales, so he must uphold his pledge of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the Catholic Church. Instead of “[running] to London to earn easy bread/by singing masses for the wealthy dead/or [finding] some Brotherhood and [getting] enrolled”(16), the Parson turns away from what many others succumbed to, the corruption of collecting easy money. Pope Francis is similar to the Parson in this manner, also being able to turn away from corruption and root it out of the Church, such as with the Vatican Bank. When his papacy began, the pope had immediately realized that there was something wrong with the system and transactions of the Vatican Bank, but instead of using that to his own advantage and profiting from it himself, he decided to reform the bank by “[closing] about 3,000 of its 19,000 accounts. [He has] also sent reports on 200 suspicious transactions”(NPR). Easily, Pope Francis could have been like the Vatican Bank real estate manager, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, who was found, Gross explains to have “millions of dollars worth of art in his home”(NPR); instead, much like the Parson, the pope continued to maintain his pledge of poverty and ignore the corruption of money. Both Pope Francis and the Parson are not working for anyone other than God. Chaucer describes the Parson, saying,“I think there never was a better priest./He sought no pomp or glory in his dealings,/... Christ and his Twelve Apostles and their lore/He taught, but followed it himself before”(17). The Parson and Pope Francis both strive to be ethical Christians, fighting corruption in themselves and