Pope Francis, Presente!

Friends,

I have long been a heartfelt admirer of Pope Francis with deep respect for the integrity and humility with which he conducted his life and ministry. He was given an extremely powerful position within his church and on the world stage, and he chose to use it, not for personal power and prestige, but for the common good of the whole world. So I want to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for his example and leadership. 

Among the things I most admired about his approach to leadership, was his conversion of considerable personal power and influence into humble service for the poor and marginalized. I think that is the ultimate claim of the message of Jesus’ teaching and ministry, the call for us to translate God’s love into radical inclusiveness and service to “the least of these.” Pope Francis consistently modeled an expression of humility from his initial  and sustained preference of minimizing the trappings of presumed pontifical privilege with a humble, direct engagement with the pressing issues of the day. Among the notable acts I most admire were his choice of modest accommodations at the Vatican; using only a small car; his meeting with a large tribal gathering to acknowledge and to ask for forgiveness for the harm done with the abuse of separating children from their families; washing the feet of a Muslim girl; and now he chose to be interned in a simple wooden coffin at a less ostentatious burial site. And his notable societal contributions included persistent efforts to reform the Vatican hierarchy; his courageous travel to sixty different countries pleading for peace, including his address to the United Nations; and his stalwart support for addressing climate change. I trust he will long be remembered for his efforts to honor the poor, the planet, and world peace. We all may have wished more progress on the Roman Catholic issue of women’s ordination, but there, too, he made important recognition of women’s leadership.

But there are two specific parts of his legacy that I want to especially honor that I believe have not been adequately recognized. First, I have been so impressed with his patient, persistent strategic efforts at implementing difficult change within the historically entrenched hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Even with persistent detractors, he insisted on emphasizing a primary pastoral role of the clergy over their temptation to clerical elitism by modeling a church committed to addressing the basic issues of a suffering world. He set a powerful example of engaging in conversation with those historically considered “other” like Muslim leadership and controversial world leaders. His meeting with V.P. Vance the day before he died was consistent with his willingness to meet with those with whom he had open disagreements. And this is strategically how long-lasting change is made in society, by assertive, but respectful, engagement across the lines of separation and disagreement toward reconciliation in the service of the common good. I consider this the heart of active nonviolence, and Pope Francis did it with such grace and effectiveness it was often unrecognized for the important example his contribution offered.

But what I most want to honor is Pope Francis' prophetic voice against war. I have a whole book entitled Pope Francis Against War with considerable accounts  of his writings, speeches, and clear denunciation of the evils of war. “War," he said, leaves our world worse than it was before, and is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation before the forces of evil.” (European Catholic Social Day, March 15, 2022) It is always disappointing to me that, despite the well known horrors of war how few religious and political leaders are willing, like Pope Francis, to so forcibly, courageously, and consistently speak out against it,  I am therefore so profoundly inspired  that Pope Francis used his leadership to make his anti-war position so prominent. 

But as I have often tried to convey in my writing, it is never enough to oppose and condemn; we must also provide, advocate and apply a more viable life affirming alternative. For Pope Francis’ the alternative to war is the cultivation of dialogue and peace building. He writes:

Peace must be cultivated in the parched soil of conflict and discord because today, in spite of everything, there is no real alternative to peacemaking. Truces maintained by walls and displays of power will not lead to peace, but only the concrete desire to listen and to engage in dialogue. We hope the areas of encounter will prevail over threatening signs of power that will yield to the power of men and women of goodwill, of different beliefs, unafraid of dialogue, open to the ideas of others and concerned for their good. Only in this way, by ensuring that no one lacks bread and work, dignity and hope, will the cries of war turn into songs of peace.  - July 7, 2018            
                                                .
Although Pope Francis will no longer be here in person to continue his courageous and compassionate example of the best of Christian discipleship, my prayer for him (and us) is that his example of openness to the leading of the Spirit will continue after his mortal death, not just within the Vatican, but throughout the whole world. We so desperately need the wisdom and grace he offered all of us. Pope Francis, “Presente!”

Peace,
Tom