The Catholic Church, which oversees a billion devotees, is the largest single religious organization on earth and one of the longest lasting organizations in human history. The death of its leader, Pope Francis, on Monday marks the end of a very intriguing papacy as Francis’ style was notably different from his predecessors. Let’s take a look at his papacy, what his legacy might be, and what might come after as the Catholic Church chooses its next leader.
The name ‘Francis’ in tile. Photo credit: Canva
The Name “Francis”
Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first pope to choose the name Francis, intentionally invoking the virtues of Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was known for valuing simplicity, humility, and compassion, especially for the needy and the poor. And these values are what Bergoglio thought should be the heart of the Catholic Church.
When first elected, he came out on the balcony without the traditional ceremonial garb, dressed instead in simple white garments and wearing his plain iron cross rather than the gold one typical of popes. The pope then traditionally blesses the crowd but he asked the crowd to first pray for him. He refused to take the papal car after his election, using the shuttle the cardinals take, and he then declined to live in the papal residence, opting instead for an apartment inside the Vatican. Even as Archbishop, he had taken public transport and declined to live in the palatial residence granted to him. In his first day, he had pushed aside the trappings of power and prestige like no pope in living memory.
Vatican opened medical clinics for the homeless. Photo credit: ncronline.org
Field Hospital
While symbols matter, Pope Francis wanted to do more than change apartments and garments. He said the Church should be like a “field hospital,” something that attends to those suffering the most amidst the pain. He also said he wanted “a Church for the poor.” An Argentinian, Francis had grown up in a country that experienced a fair bit of poverty, economic strain, and political turmoil. As Archbishop, he knew the names of many homeless people and spent a lot of time listening to the stories of refugees and migrants.
As Pope, he set up a Vatican homeless service in Rome including showers, barbers, medical services and beds. The Vatican also provided Covid vaccines to the homeless. He spoke out against the harshness of aspects of capitalism and the throwaway culture by which he meant not merely plastic spoons, but the way society throws away human beings that are inconvenient.
He spoke up especially about migrants and refugees. He made his first Papal visit outside of Rome to the island of Lampedusa, a key entry port to Europe for refugees. He consistently advocated for refugees including criticizing the Trump administration. While his advocacy is admirable, it should be noted that its unclear if it had much effect as both Europe and the USA have responded to the refugee crisis with stricter borders. I suspect Francis would say you must speak up for what’s right even if it’s unpopular.
Hands making a heart shape. Photo credit: Canva
Compassion, Not Culture Wars
Francis’s desire to have the Church focus on the suffering meant downplaying certain culture war issues. Early in his papacy, he startled the world when a journalist asked about homosexuality and the new pope responded “who am I to judge?” Conservatives were outraged while liberals cheered.
To be clear, he rarely changed official doctrines. The Church still does not accept gay marriage, does not allow women to be priests, and Francis was staunchly pro-life. But he called for more dialogue and less judgement. And he made some more modest changes, allowing priests to bless same-sex couples (but not perform marriages), appointing women to positions of authority in the church and allowing them to vote at a synod, and he said Joe Biden could keep receiving communion despite Biden’s pro-choice politics.
Scholar Emma Anderson combined the above two points (on the Field Hospital and the Culture Wars) very nicely by saying the Francis redefined sin. She suggested that whereas Francis’ predecessors focused more on sins related to sexuality (gays, abortion, contraception, divorce, etc.) that this pope seemed to focus on refugees, war victims, and the destitute.
A Jesuit
Francis was the first Jesuit pope. His Jesuit training can be seen in the emphases above on simplicity and compassion. But the Jesuits are also a very educated branch of Catholicism that value dialogue and compromise. Francis as a result, was known at important meetings to listen a lot and encourage participation. He also engaged in significant interfaith work. While he spoke out often against antisemitism, his outreach to Muslims is most notable.
He went to Abu Dhabi, becoming the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula where he held a mass for over 100,000 people. He met the Grand Imam of Al Azhar which is the premier Muslim centre of learning arguably on earth, a university older than Oxford. Al Azhar is a Sunni institution so the Pope also met with the leading Shi’ite cleric on earth, the Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani of Iran. These meetings came with statements and documents calling for co-existence and peace amongst the world’s two most dominant religions.
The Vatican at night. Photo credit: Canva
What’s Next?
We don’t know. The church will choose a new pope via a conclave that will begin within 15 days. There are numerous potential candidates, some of whom, if chosen, would be the first pope from their geographic region, be it East Asia, the United States or sub-Saharan Africa. More important is the question of whether the pope will be more of a liberalizer or a conservative.
Francis liberalized the Church on some of the aspects described above. A pope with similar inclinations would help cement these changes going forward whereas a conservative pope could reverse many of the changes of his predecessor.
Two final notes. I was fortunate to be interviewed three times on Monday concerning the Pope. If you’re interested, one of the CBC TV interviews is here.
But, if you just want some really good TV, the 2024 movie Conclave is enjoyable and available on multiple platforms.
The Catholic Church, which oversees a billion devotees, is the largest single religious organization on earth and one of the longest lasting organizations in human history. The death of its leader, Pope Francis, on Monday marks the end of a very intriguing papacy as Francis’ style was notably different from his predecessors. Let’s take a look at his papacy, what his legacy might be, and what might come after as the Catholic Church chooses its next leader.
The name ‘Francis’ in tile. Photo credit: Canva
The Name “Francis”
Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first pope to choose the name Francis, intentionally invoking the virtues of Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was known for valuing simplicity, humility, and compassion, especially for the needy and the poor. And these values are what Bergoglio thought should be the heart of the Catholic Church.
When first elected, he came out on the balcony without the traditional ceremonial garb, dressed instead in simple white garments and wearing his plain iron cross rather than the gold one typical of popes. The pope then traditionally blesses the crowd but he asked the crowd to first pray for him. He refused to take the papal car after his election, using the shuttle the cardinals take, and he then declined to live in the papal residence, opting instead for an apartment inside the Vatican. Even as Archbishop, he had taken public transport and declined to live in the palatial residence granted to him. In his first day, he had pushed aside the trappings of power and prestige like no pope in living memory.
Vatican opened medical clinics for the homeless. Photo credit: ncronline.org
Field Hospital
While symbols matter, Pope Francis wanted to do more than change apartments and garments. He said the Church should be like a “field hospital,” something that attends to those suffering the most amidst the pain. He also said he wanted “a Church for the poor.” An Argentinian, Francis had grown up in a country that experienced a fair bit of poverty, economic strain, and political turmoil. As Archbishop, he knew the names of many homeless people and spent a lot of time listening to the stories of refugees and migrants.
As Pope, he set up a Vatican homeless service in Rome including showers, barbers, medical services and beds. The Vatican also provided Covid vaccines to the homeless. He spoke out against the harshness of aspects of capitalism and the throwaway culture by which he meant not merely plastic spoons, but the way society throws away human beings that are inconvenient.
He spoke up especially about migrants and refugees. He made his first Papal visit outside of Rome to the island of Lampedusa, a key entry port to Europe for refugees. He consistently advocated for refugees including criticizing the Trump administration. While his advocacy is admirable, it should be noted that its unclear if it had much effect as both Europe and the USA have responded to the refugee crisis with stricter borders. I suspect Francis would say you must speak up for what’s right even if it’s unpopular.
Hands making a heart shape. Photo credit: Canva
Compassion, Not Culture Wars
Francis’s desire to have the Church focus on the suffering meant downplaying certain culture war issues. Early in his papacy, he startled the world when a journalist asked about homosexuality and the new pope responded “who am I to judge?” Conservatives were outraged while liberals cheered.
To be clear, he rarely changed official doctrines. The Church still does not accept gay marriage, does not allow women to be priests, and Francis was staunchly pro-life. But he called for more dialogue and less judgement. And he made some more modest changes, allowing priests to bless same-sex couples (but not perform marriages), appointing women to positions of authority in the church and allowing them to vote at a synod, and he said Joe Biden could keep receiving communion despite Biden’s pro-choice politics.
Scholar Emma Anderson combined the above two points (on the Field Hospital and the Culture Wars) very nicely by saying the Francis redefined sin. She suggested that whereas Francis’ predecessors focused more on sins related to sexuality (gays, abortion, contraception, divorce, etc.) that this pope seemed to focus on refugees, war victims, and the destitute.
Photo credit: Al-Azhar University logo, Wikipedia: Public Domain. Picture of the Grand Imam of al-Azhar: Wikipedia: CC BY 3.0
A Jesuit
Francis was the first Jesuit pope. His Jesuit training can be seen in the emphases above on simplicity and compassion. But the Jesuits are also a very educated branch of Catholicism that value dialogue and compromise. Francis as a result, was known at important meetings to listen a lot and encourage participation. He also engaged in significant interfaith work. While he spoke out often against antisemitism, his outreach to Muslims is most notable.
He went to Abu Dhabi, becoming the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula where he held a mass for over 100,000 people. He met the Grand Imam of Al Azhar which is the premier Muslim centre of learning arguably on earth, a university older than Oxford. Al Azhar is a Sunni institution so the Pope also met with the leading Shi’ite cleric on earth, the Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani of Iran. These meetings came with statements and documents calling for co-existence and peace amongst the world’s two most dominant religions.
The Vatican at night. Photo credit: Canva
What’s Next?
We don’t know. The church will choose a new pope via a conclave that will begin within 15 days. There are numerous potential candidates, some of whom, if chosen, would be the first pope from their geographic region, be it East Asia, the United States or sub-Saharan Africa. More important is the question of whether the pope will be more of a liberalizer or a conservative.
Francis liberalized the Church on some of the aspects described above. A pope with similar inclinations would help cement these changes going forward whereas a conservative pope could reverse many of the changes of his predecessor.
Two final notes. I was fortunate to be interviewed three times on Monday concerning the Pope. If you’re interested, one of the CBC TV interviews is here.
But, if you just want some really good TV, the 2024 movie Conclave is enjoyable and available on multiple platforms.
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