Pope Francis, Light Amid the Darkness

When the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to succeed Pope Benedict IVI in 2013, he was the first pope in history to come from the Americas. And the only one to take the name Francis. And just as Francis of Assissi is everyone’s favorite saint, just so did this Francis become for many of us, Catholic and not, everyone’s pope. He was a pastor and a servant leader, whose greatest achievement, according to Austen Ivereigh, “was pushing the church to prioritize compassion.” He preached peace and was a relentless advocate for the world’s poor and marginalized. In his Easter Sunday message, delivered by his deputy, Francis called for a ceasefire in Gaza, food for the starving, the release of Israeli hostages, and peace in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Congo. He decried “contempt stirred up against the vulnerable, marginalized and migrants.” Francis had also become perhaps the world’s leading voice in calling for care for the earth, “our common home.” In his encyclical Laudato Si’, he showed a very comprehensive grasp of the challenges facing us, while also calling attention to the moral and spiritual roots of the problem. Because of his attention to these real-life concerns, because of his authenticity and his pastoral presence, many people, including many young people, were drawn to him.

In the days following his death on April 21, the day after Easter Sunday, there were a number of interviews with people Francis had befriended. These included members of the last remaining Catholic church in Gaza. Three hundred people have sheltered there since the war began. Pope Francis kept in regular contact. Speaking to a reporter shortly after the Pope’s death, a spokesman for the congregation said, “Today we feel like we are truly orphans. No matter where he was or what he was doing, Francis would call every evening at 7. He would ask whether we had food, did we have clean water. Had anyone been injured? It was a question a father would ask. We lost all this. He was the only voice that did not go silent. … I would call the whole world … to see Gaza by the eyes of Pope Francis.”

Despite orders to rest, Pope Francis continued to engage with world leaders right up to the end. He had a brief visit with Vice-President Vance on Easter Sunday morning. Vance and his family were on a trip to Italy, and the Vice-President had met the day before with some Vatican officials. Francis’ and Vance’s meeting was cordial. But as recently as February, the Pope had sent a letter condemning the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportation of migrants, in which he had indirectly criticized Vance for trying to justify this with Christian principles.

In light of Francis’ teaching two more recent, easily overlooked moves by the Trump administration deserve mention. Last month it was reported that large sections of the State Department’s annual human rights report were being cut out. Previously this was looked to by many as an important fact-based marker. Also, then in late April, Trump, who has made it a goal to eliminate whatever climate initiatives he can, halted work on the National Climate Assessment. This highly respected report, mandated by Congress in the 1990s and compiled by hundreds of volunteer scientists and climate experts, was being published every five years or so. It guided regulations and provided critical information to teachers, farmers, mayors and city planners, fire department and emergency managers.

There is nothing “great” here. These actions are backward and shameful. Sadly, they follow the pattern of a childish need to reverse whatever came before, no matter its merits. A dark willfulness as regards facts. And a narrowing of what concerns us and who belongs.

Human weakness and human selfishness are facts to be sure. But as Pope Francis reminded us, we are made for goodness, for truth, for joy. And at our best we can go on learning and changing. Light continues to shine in the darkness, and Francis’ distinctive and powerful witness will continue to reverberate among us.

Steve Bullington

Adrian