Building Bridges - Remembering Pope Francis

Building Bridges – Remembering Pope Francis

I remember the year when one Argentine became the Queen of the Netherlands and another Argentine became the head of the Catholic Church, also known as the Pope Francis. His arrival was met with surprise among the Catholic community. Many had expected a younger and probably better-known successor of Pope Benedict XVI, who had resigned from his duties due to officially health reasons. The investigating allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church had overshadowed the reign of the German Joseph Alois Ratzinger, who retired from public life after his resignation as the sovereign of the Vatican City State in 2013 and eventually passed away in 2022.

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires became Pope Francis, the face of the Catholic Church changed overnight, while many of us wondered if and how that would actually change our lives. I remember writing the first article I got paid for back about this exact topic when Pope Francis visited the United States of the America and met President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who was a devoted Catholic himself. Biden credited his faith for helping him through dark times when he had to deal with the loss of his first wife and two of his four children.

Pope Francis was the first Latin American Pope and the first who was born outside of Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III. He had become the bishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II, and compared with the previous popes, Francis was well known for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to interreligious dialogue.

Francis refused to receive the salary he had been entitled to in his new position and opted for a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors; he chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes, and he was known for favoring simpler vestments void of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal.

Francis wanted to be known for his common touch and accessibility that is proving the greatest inspiration, and on the night of his election, he took a bus back to his hotel with the cardinals rather than being driven in the papal car before visiting Cardinal Jorge María Mejía in the hospital and chatted with patients and staff on the next day. After he passed away earlier this month, he was buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome in a simple zinc-lined wooden coffin, which reflects his personal rejection of papal pomp and reinforces his message of modesty even in death.

But coming back to the original question, what did Francis actually achieve during his reign, and how will he be remembered? While Francis lived by example and other leading personalities of the Catholic Church ultimately felt the pressure to cut down on living expenses themselves, the last pope pushed for changes in the Catholic Church, which made it an institution that was more approachable in a time of scandals due to the past catching up on it. And those changes impacted many people.

Francis made women full members of decasteres in the Roman Curia, and strongly believed that the Catholic Church should demonstrate more inclusiveness to LGBTQ people. Francis stated that although blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, the individuals in a same-sex relationship can be blessed as long as the blessing is not given in a liturgical context. Pope Francis also spoke up against consumerism and overdevelopment, and made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy.

The pope was not hiding behind the high walls of the Vatican and viewed the death penalty as inadmissible in all cases and committed the Catholic Church to its worldwide abolition. Francis warned of the rise of right-wing populism and called for the decriminalization of homosexuality; he helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, negotiated a deal with the People's Republic of China to define Communist Party influence in appointing Chinese bishops, and supported the cause of refugees.

The pope encouraged peace between Israel and Palestinians, signed the Vatican's first treaty with the State of Palestine, and condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza, calling for investigations of war crimes. Pope Francis called protection of migrants a "duty of civilization" and criticized anti-immigration policies, including those of US president Donald Trump. In 2022, he apologized for the Church's role in the cultural genocide of Canadian Indigenous peoples in residential schools and convened the Synod on Sodality, which was described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.

I decided to publish this article since many of us feel that Pope Francis was a person who really “Built Bridges” far and beyond. We remember famous heads of state passing away who had demonstrated a sense of duty and accompanied us for longer periods of time. But unlike Pope Francis, the monarchs of recent and previous times were not supposed to speak up or take sides. We remember Queen Elizabeth II for stability and continuity, but it was her place to fight for minorities, such as members of the LGBTQ community, or comment on the migrant situations.

Pope Francis had worked with the poor in Argentina, and he kept giving his support and attention to those in need. We live in challenging and uncertain times. People look at politicians and are worried if those political leaders are in there for the right reasons.

Sometimes we miss leaders demonstrating capabilities such as compassion or humanity. But then it is quite often up to us to make those differences in the lives of others ourselves.

Pope Francis lived by example.

And so should we.