Fraternity, Compassion, and Justice: Pope Francis, the People’s Pope

Eulogy

By Jan Arden

Pope Francis passed away at 88 on Monday after a couple of months of ailing health, on the day following his last Easter appearance, an event that has deeply saddened the Catholic world, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to them as the traditional nine-day mourning are under way. Yet, in the corridors of conservatism that has generally been the hallmark of the Vatican, this was no ordinary Pope. His words, travels, moral, religious and spiritual presence kept challenging us, of all faiths and political dispositions, to the quest for greater fraternity, compassion, mercy and social justice in a world torn asunder by power conflicts, unbridled capitalism and global competition for limited resources.

Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

As a Jesuit, the Argentinian-origin Pope was steeped in simplicity, if not a spiritual humility that made him, days after taking his eminent office, prefer a modest Vatican suite meant for cardinals rather than the more opulent papal residence, riding by special bus rather than a papal motorcade of limos, paying his own hotel bills or his future burial costs and even in his simpler wardrobe, unsettling an establishment more accustomed to familiar perks, pomp and pageantry. The faithful called him the People’s Pope in a papacy that lasted 12 years.

While these and his other attempts to reform the Vatican establishment may have caused flutters among Vatican watchers and the College of Cardinals familiar with the hushed networks within the Vatican, they rejoiced many within the wider circle of the faithful in St. Peter’s ministry on Earth. Insiders know he did not have an easy time with several difficult issues that fell to him, where his straightforward views, expressed in simple words, became indispensable. Secularists and those of Catholic faith and dogma alike knew he had to address the shocking revelations and cover-ups surrounding sexual predators in ordained robes preying on the innocence and trust of children, the vexed question of celibacy and the role of women in the Church, and the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community to be treated as human beings, not as deviants.

With compassion and a sense of universal values inherited from his mentor, St Francis of Assisi, he did not shirk from taking a clear stance on those controversies. Several centuries earlier, Saint Francis had expressed the essence of fraternity as one that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lived, and, we would add today, regardless of race, gender or religious beliefs.

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Globalisation of indifference

The outpouring of condolence messages from world leaders testifies to the fact that Pope Francis’s words and tireless pilgrimages around the world, particularly to many difficult zones, had a far wider reach than mere preaching to his followers. He challenged them, and us, to seek deeper universal fraternity based on compassion, mercy, and social justice.

In a world where horrendous conflicts persist in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, where migration and poverty pose intractable problems, where unbridled capitalist greed and wealth accumulation define success, where the concerns of the Global South are ignored, and where the planet’s fragile environment demands concerted action from world leaders, his simply expressed words urged us, regardless of faith or belief, to reflect on the deeper universal values we should cherish. He also prompted us to consider the individual actions we can take to advance a more compassionate and just society.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 25 April 2025

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 25 April 2025