Remembering Pope Francis

A Humble Man Who Fought for Peace, the Environment and Justice

I did not expect to write today, as I wrote last night I wasn’t to planning unless something really big happened, and it did. Pope Francis, the first South American and first member of the Jesuits to become Pope 12 years ago following the resignation of Pope Benedict XV. He turned out to be the progressive Pope since Pope John XXIII who began the Second Vatican Council which brought many needed reforms to the Church but which was short circuited by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict.

Pope Francis was unique, he had lived through and ministered in Argentina which for much of his life was a military dictatorship that welcomed Nazis complicit in the Holocaust including Adolf Eichmann. It was a nation where citizens were regularly “disappeared” into secret police and military prisons where they were tortured and killed. So Francis understood the very real and present danger of dictatorships, authoritarian governments, and autocracy. Pope John Paul II might have lived under a Soviet dominated Polish government, but unlike Francis, he was a Polish nationalist who hated foreign rule whether it was the Nazis of his youth or the Soviets.

Throughout his papacy Pope Francis focused on making the Church a a moral force in the world. Unlike his predecessors he did not simply focus matters of personal piety and being against abortion, or opposing rights for LGBTQ+ people while being silent or giving lip service to issues of peace, justice, and social responsibility, including the environment. He did not do as much for women and LGBTQ+ people as some wanted, but he still went further than any previous Pope in at least making some progress, despite excommunicating bishops who ordained women as priests.

Pope Francis was the antidote to the toxic politics of Fascism, Nationalism, and authoritarian governments. His commitment to democracy stood against the growing threat of Right Wing authoritarianism often backed by Christian leaders. He excommunicated or defrocked bishops and priests whose support of authoritarianism and opposition to his papacy, poisoned the witness of the Catholic Church.

In what turned out to be his final message on Easter Sunday he said:

“How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas!”

Pope Francis was a long time critic of Trump’s immigration policies including the obscene policy of separating families from their children, locking the children in cages and then disappearing them across the country. Thousands of migrant families never saw their children again. In February he again condemned the Trump Regime for its immigration policies and actions saying: they are a violation of the “dignity of many men and women, and of entire families.” He then wrote an open letter to U.S. Catholic Bishops which said: ““followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations,” adding that any policy built on force “begins badly and will end badly.”

He also wrote two Papal Encyclicals urging political leaders to do more to protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gasses, and deal with rising global temperatures. In his 2023 message he stated: “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons.”

He was a voice for peace and the end of the Russian War against Ukraine, as well as the excesses of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. He never stopped being the conscience of the world.

His Encyclical FRATELLI TUTTI, (ON FRATERNITY AND SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP) of October 2020 goes a long way in explaining why Francis was so adamant about these issues. These go back to his Papal namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi of whom he wrote:

“There is an episode in the life of Saint Francis that shows his openness of heart, which knew no bounds and transcended differences of origin, nationality, colour or religion. It was his visit to Sultan Malik-el-Kamil, in Egypt, which entailed considerable hardship, given Francis’ poverty, his scarce resources, the great distances to be traveled and their differences of language, culture and religion. That journey, undertaken at the time of the Crusades, further demonstrated the breadth and grandeur of his love, which sought to embrace everyone. Francis’ fidelity to his Lord was commensurate with his love for his brothers and sisters. Unconcerned for the hardships and dangers involved, Francis went to meet the Sultan with the same attitude that he instilled in his disciples: if they found themselves “among the Saracens and other nonbelievers”, without renouncing their own identity they were not to “engage in arguments or disputes, but to be subject to every human creature for God’s sake”. [3] In the context of the times, this was an extraordinary recommendation. We are impressed that some eight hundred years ago Saint Francis urged that all forms of hostility or conflict be avoided and that a humble and fraternal “subjection” be shown to those who did not share his faith.”

He also noted:

“Francis did not wage a war of words aimed at imposing doctrines; he simply spread the love of God. He understood that “God is love and those who abide in love abide in God” ( 1 Jn 4:16). In this way, he became a father to all and inspired the vision of a fraternal society. Indeed, “only the man who approaches others, not to draw them into his own life, but to help them become ever more fully themselves, can truly be called a father”. [4]In the world of that time, bristling with watchtowers and defensive walls, cities were a theatre of brutal wars between powerful families, even as poverty was spreading through the countryside. Yet there Francis was able to welcome true peace into his heart and free himself of the desire to wield power over others. He became one of the poor and sought to live in harmony with all. Francis has inspired these pages.”

Saint Francis was revolutionary in his day and helped reform the Church. For a Pope, Francis, the first to ever take then name continued his namesake’s legacy of love, compassion, service and peace.

Certainly Pope Francis was not perfect, and he might not have gone far enough for his critics. But he was humble and never lorded his position over others. He was a humble man who was a voice in the toxic wilderness of power politics, nationalism, racism and religion which is clouding our future in gloom. Like Francis, all of us regardless of our nationality, religious faith, or inbred prejudices must take a stand for justice.

Anyway, back to my regularly scheduled day. All the best, keep the faith, keep resisting by fighting for justice and peace. Also, watch your six.