Farewell, Pope Francis, For A Little While

I remember a night long ago in college, when I was searching for why I should remain a Catholic, I came across one of (now Saint) John Henry Cardinal Newman’s major works “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine”, published in 1845. Yes, I know. I should have been out drinking, or vegging, or dating, but no, I was reading Newman and I was in the stratosphere. I had just discovered the inescapable reason why I had to remain Catholic, and I was never so proud of my faith as at that moment. You’ll have to look up the work to find out what the inescapable reason was. I mention the moment because I felt the same way when I watched Papa Francesco’s funeral at 2 am Saturday morning. I was so surprised. After all, I have been Catholic all my life. Why this renewed experience of joy?

Of course, the pope was a good man. Of course, he was holy. Of course, he was famous and powerful. But looking out at 250,000 people packing St. Peter’s Square and watching the entire ceremony and Mass go off without a hitch made me catch my breath with pride at being Catholic. And it sent a chill up my spine when in great Italian tradition, the papal gentlemen lifted up the casket, tilted it to the crowds, and the vast numbers of people burst out into applause for such a life well-lived. Death never has the final say for a Christian. Farewell, Pope Francis, for a little while.

The Pope Made Us One People

Francis didn’t like styling himself the Vicar of Christ, but he was nonetheless. And never did that fact show forth more than at his funeral. It was a day when everybody felt like being Catholic. A brilliant sun shone down as kings, queens, princes, princesses, presidents, and prime ministers, along with the faithful and curious, united for several glorious hours to say farewell to the man who had the capacity to make us one people.

Why He Was A Good Pope–The Essential Five Points

Yes, he had his good points and bad ones. But he will go down as a good pope for the Church and for the world. So much has already been said of him, but I think the essentials can be boiled down to five points:

• History will always remember him as the Pope of Mercy. From the beginning of his pontificate, he stressed the mercy of God over judgment. It made him beloved by any who have ever felt shame or unrequited guilt. He made sure, for the twelve years he evangelized the world, that people knew God was loving and forgiving.
• His outreach to the marginalized made concrete that message of mercy. Often he spoke to sinners, prostitutes, lgbtq+ persons, the homeless, the migrants, and all who stood at the fringes of human compassion and acceptance and made them feel loved. He got into trouble with people who thought he should be more condemnatory. But he didn’t care, and he never changed.
• His outreach to the peripheries meant going to places where Catholics had been forgotten. How many people ever knew where Togo was? Well, he took us there, to southeast Asia, to a Catholic country with millions of followers of Christ. He went to a jungle city that had no paved roads, no sewer system, no amenities except the faith of a lively, loving people. 25,000 came to worship in the heat, danced and celebrated their culture, and had a wonderful Eucharist together. In a more somber time, he went to Mosul, Iraq, where he was nearly assassinated by terrorists, to bring hope to a battered Christian minority reeling from years of war. He was told of the attempt on his life while he was standing in the ruins of Mosul’s cathedral, celebrating a Mass of peace and non-violence. He won. The terrorists lost. Hope was renewed as he showed Christ was there to stay.
• He was a pastor not a theologian. This was the source of his strength and why historians of the Church will be very kind to him. It also will lead to the biggest criticisms of him. Though theologically well-educated, he was after all a Jesuit, he was not a scholar. He was a priest who translated the faith to everyday people trying to find God in their lives. As every pastor knows, the world and the every day is quite gray and the challenge for us is to present the faith so that people living normal lives can understand and accept it. Pope Francis was never heretical. He was always orthodox. However, if people read a pastor’s words as scholarly, doctrinal decrees, they will criticize that pastor for ambiguity and often unclear language. But Francis remembered a great truth of our faith: dogma exists for the people, not people for the dogma. The teaching of the Church is supposed to help us live the life of Christ. We are not supposed to bend the knee to dogma. It is a help to belief and Christian life, not a burden. Francis never forgot this. We shouldn’t forget either.
• Lastly, Pope Francis made a mess. Early in his pontificate, he went to a World Youth Day in Brazil and told the hundreds of thousands of young people there to go out into the world and make a mess. He meant them to shake up the world with the truth of Jesus Christ. The young love that stuff, sometimes stuffy Catholics not so much. Again, it got him into trouble. It was a trouble that will lead future generations to revere and thank him for reintroducing a side of Catholicism not seen since the time of St. Francis of Assisi, whose name he adopted for his pontificate.

He Was A Good Pope–“He Loved Us, And We Loved Him.”

Much more could be said, but I think these five points summarize his life quite well. As I read the list of tributes to him by celebrities, many of whom barely know God or live very questionable lifestyles, as I heard world leaders praise his care for humanity, I rejoiced. However, I was truly humbled to hear the ordinary folk say, “He loved us and we loved him.” We surely did. I am so proud to be Catholic. If you are Catholic, I hope you are too. And if you are not, may the joy you feel over this man’s life and work lead you ever closer to Jesus Christ who is Divine Mercy for a world longing for forgiveness and grace.