( CNN ) -- With the selection of Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio , who will be known as Pope Francis , the cardinals have sent a signal to the Church about how Catholics should live in the world . Bergoglio is known to be a good administrator . But he lives very simply in a small apartment and rides a bus . He 's well known for his engagement in issues of social justice and in defense of the poor . Indeed , the very name Francis honors St. Francis of Assisi , a person of humility and deep caring . If he is anything like his namesake then this selection is good news indeed . And now that he has been named pope , Francis will face a raft of advice . Some will call for improved administration , finding a way to draw new Catholics into the church where it is in decline , and increasing engagement with other faith traditions . Opinion : The biggest moment in the world . Other pundits were thinking in grand terms . Among the progressives , some believe the church should adopt a bold revolution , with new acceptance of women priests , homosexuality , etc . The Cubs have a greater chance of winning a World Series . Change on controversial issues , if it happens at all , will be slow and incremental , since the church is bound by the requirements of tradition and precedent . From the traditional side of Catholicism , expressed in a Wall Street Journal column by George Weigel , hope was for a pope who will be `` a charismatic , missionary culture warrior , challenging the world 's democracies to rebuild their moral foundations . '' The problem here is that in the United States many of the troops are not following the generals . For example , 90 % of Catholics are using contraception and 82 % think it is morally permissible . Moreover , many American Catholics are more devoted to liberal and conservative political positions than the teachings of the church . This poses a serious problem . The church has conservative positions on human sexuality , bioethics , etc. , but liberal positions on issues such as economic regulation , the death penalty and immigration . A church divided against itself seems unlikely to renew our political or cultural structures . News : Cardinals elect first pope from Latin America . So , in lieu of grand but seemingly unworkable schemes , I would suggest a much more modest but doable set of proposals to address a spiritual crisis of declining confidence in the institutional church . In a recent Pew Foundation survey of Catholics in the United States , almost half listed the issues needing to be addressed in the church as the priest sex abuse scandal and a loss of trust . What can the church do to resolve the trust problem ? Why not begin a transparency and empowerment offensive ? Transparency could be improved by placing in the Vatican Catholic lay experts in charge of the priest abuse investigations . Trust will not be restored by clerics investigating and judging clerics . We end up with Cardinal Bernard Law , who moved and protected pedophile priests , being granted a position of honor in Rome . These kinds of decisions have seriously eroded trust in the pews . In the United States , the Catholic Church finally awakened and began a process of lay review . A female judge and lay investigators restored a degree of trust . Bring this model to Rome . Opinion : Pope Francis , humble , authentic and credible . Eliminating the Vatican Bank , a source of scandals for many decades , would increase transparency and institutional focus . The church is better with the deposit of faith than the faith of deposits . Turn the funds over to reliable banks subject to international regulatory requirements . Resolving these transparency issues is based in part on empowering the laity for a greater role . And there are other empowerment possibilities . The church could allow more flexibility to local bishops and parishes , who can respond creatively to local conditions . In a global church , this will assist effective evangelization . And why not have women deacons ? This would add more personnel for critical church functions in locations without sufficient priests . It would ensure greater access to the sacraments and bring an often-alienated constituency into a critical role offering new gifts to the administration of the church . Another role for women could be an advisory board to the pontiff on the role of women and women 's issues in the church . These proposals for transparency and empowerment are realistic ways to restore faith , hope and charity in the administration of the church . They would allow the church to pursue its spiritual mission more effectively and more fully use the gifts of its female members . These proposals can succeed because they will not require a radical change in theology , tradition or canon law . They require no major shift in doctrine . I have one final suggestion to restore hope and trust . The church , starting with the example of Pope Francis , must embody the virtue of humility . It must listen as well as preach . Consider also the example of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines , who does not own a car and eats with workers . His words match his humble lifestyle . He has said , `` ( You ) may be saying the right things but people will not listen if the manner by which you communicate reminds them of a triumphalistic , know-it-all institution . '' Amen . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Phillip M. Thomson .
Phillip Thompson : The new pope will be getting much advice . He says the pope should build trust , introduce new transparency on range of issues . He says put lay experts in charge of sex abuse probe , eliminate Vatican Bank . Thompson : Church should empower laity , especially women , and restore faith , hope .