The Vatican confirmed the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, a day after he made a surprise appearance at an Easter Sunday blessing.
Media outlets traditionally keep obituary stories quietly updated so that when a notable person dies, they have something they can post relatively fast. I’ll admit that for this blog, even with the serious health worries for Pope Francis, it somehow didn’t occur to me to prepare anything.
We heard for days that he was near death in a hospital. But he somehow rallied and was suddenly able to leave the hospital. We heard he was still in serious condition and recovering from pneumonia. Then came Easter Sunday’s surprise appearance at the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square. It was easy to assume that even at age 88, he would make a full recovery, if for no other reason, out of sheer determination.
So I didn’t really think that trying to prepare anything for this blog would be necessary just yet. But most of us will never know when our time will come. He died early Monday morning at age 88.
I can’t pretend for a moment I feel the full impact of Francis’ death. I’m not a Catholic, nor have I ever been. I was raised a Southern Baptist though I consider myself non-denominational now.
But I’ve always found value in examining how different religions operate. Very often, I find something to admire in other religions and even wish mine could take a page from someone else’s.
I can’t say I agree with everything Pope Francis said. But I found a good bit to admire over his 12 years as pope.
5 times Francis’ words impressed me
A dozen years ago, Francis, shaped by his humble beginnings, sent a message to priests and nuns about their cars.
“A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one,” he said. “If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world.”
You have to respect that kind of sentiment.
That same year, his answer to a question about gay priests surprised many: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
I’ve met plenty of overly-legalistic people in the church who focus on rule-breakers. How refreshing it was to hear the Pope himself ask that question.
The pope did stop short of advocating gay marriage, but he did say members of the LGBTQ+ community “shouldn’t be marginalized.”
“The tendency (to be homosexual) is not the problem. They are our brothers,” he said.
The tendency toward legalism as a weapon in church is a problem for any denomination. We call those people the “holier than thou” set. We have all met them. So it was also nice to hear this:
“The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules,” he said. “The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all.”
How ironic it is that the very people whose faith promises them grace and mercy have the hardest time extending it to others.
In 2017, he called for a change to the Lord’s Prayer. The change was subtle on the surfact, but also very significant. He took issue with the line, “Lead us not into temptation.”
“It is not He that pushes me into temptation and then sees how I fall,” Francis said in Italian. “A father does not do this. A father quickly helps those who are provoked into Satan’s temptation.”
Then there was the 2018 private meeting with a Chilean sex abuse survivor. The man admitted to Francis that he was gay.
“You have to be happy with who you are,” he said the pope answered. “God made you this way and loves you this way, and the pope loves you this way.”
I raised the point at the time that I don’t fully agree that God makes someone gay. I think biology does that. Still, the overall attitude spoke volumes about how the church should treat those who its members feel are different.
Francis prompted important conversations
I didn’t agree with everything he said. For example, he criticized people who choose to have pets over children. He said a “denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us.”
I don’t believe everyone has an undeniable obligation to bring a child into the world. I don’t think every person will automatically make a good parent. Those who wouldn’t or don’t have the means — for a variety of reasons — shouldn’t be shamed about that decision. It might be that they are making a loving decision by not having a child.
But what I think Francis accomplished was creating moments where people could have conversations about important issues.
You don’t have to agree with everything he said. But when you can discuss those points with those around you and hear differing viewpoints, a funny thing can happen.
Sometimes, your find that your viewpoint stands stronger for lack of a convincing counter-argument. But sometimes, your position falls to a better counter-argument that makes you reevaluate what you believe.
I’d like to think such considerations are a part of wisdom.
Maybe Francis helped some of us reevaluate the truths we hold dear. For those people, he might have given us the chance to find a bit more wisdom than we had before he served as pope.
Rest in peace, Pope Francis.
