The papal visit has led to a great deal of discussion on Pope Francis. He is perceived by many, including WSN, as a bold progressive, with such ideological figures as Bernie Sanders and Mayor DeBlasio celebrating him. Pundits often construe Pope Francis as “going against the grain” of what they see as an ideologically conservative Catholic Church. Yet these views, construed in western political terms, show a lack of understanding of both the Catholic Church at large and Pope Francis.

Pope Francis’s faith is key to his life. His worldview is shaped primarily from the teachings of Jesus Christ and the philosophical and theological scholarship of the Catholic Church in the last two millennia. It is an extensive worldview, to fully understand it one must know a great deal about the Bible, history, philosophy, and theology. It transcends terms of left or right.  In his papacy, Pope Francis continues the eternal mission of the Church, preaching the unchanging truth in an ever changing world.

The social teachings of the church that Pope Francis preaches so well are often unknown, but they are longstanding. Rerum Novarum in 1891 outlined the rights of labor and advocated for a preferential option for the poor. More recently, Pope Benedict XVI wrote on this social tradition in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, and he often spoke on environmental issues. During his papacy, he had solar panels installed on a building in the Vatican. Here in the United States, a nation where Catholic immigrants were once faced with disdain, our bishops have always advocated for migrants. Compassion and care are central to the Church, consider that Pope John Paul II met and forgave the man who shot him. Closer to campus, you can walk down Christopher Street to find Missionaries of Charity offering care to AIDS patients, or take a gander at the two Catholic Worker houses offering services to the poor in the Lower East Side.

My advice to everyone: Take media coverage of Pope Francis and the Church with a grain of salt. When he does or says something you find inspirational yet didn’t expect, don’t assume the act is a break from Catholic orthodoxy. Instead, open your mind to discover what Catholic orthodoxy actually is and learn about its underlying principles. Clergy and laity do not feel threatened by Pope Francis, we celebrate him! If you want to understand Pope Francis, his church, and his mission, I invite you to come to the Catholic Center and engage with the staff and students. They will show you the Church for what it is, rather than what politicians and talk show hosts would have it be.

Andrew Stola is an NYU student studying in London.