With Easter being over, I’m looking forward to writing blogs again. Today I cannot help but write a tribute to Pope Francis. He was a hero of mine. I was so excited for the Catholic church when he as Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Curate to be Pope in 2013. Then when he took the name of Francis, one of my heroes of the faith, I was immediately captivated about what he would do as the Pope.
Even though I am Presbyterian to the core, I have terrific respect for the Catholic church. My wife, Amy, is Catholic and currently serves as Administrator at St. Josephs By the Lakes Catholic church. We are a two-church family. I often go to Mass with Amy on Saturday evenings and about once every six weeks cantor at their Saturday evening Mass. Our daughter, Hannah, was baptized at a Presbyterian worship service by a Presbyterian pastor and Catholic priest. She was confirmed in both the Catholic and Presbyterian communities.
Both Amy and I have had rich relationships with priests who come from the social justice part of the church. We’re both concerned that the number of people who identify as social justice priests seems to have diminished. This great tradition of the Catholic church does not seem to be as important as before.
Is it possible to be a Social Justice Pope? Pope Francis did his best. I always admired the times that he would speak about the widening gap of wealth between the rich and the poor. It’s probably too much to expect that the divide between rich and poor would be diminished because of the work of the Pope. But I’m guessing that if Pope Francis could have snapped his fingers and reduce this gap, he would been known as the “snapping Pope.”
I’m still touched by his humility. The way he lived out his humility provides many lessons for all religious leaders. He frequently celebrated foot washings on Maundy Thursday in jails, hospitals, retirement homes and slums. He lived a simple lifestyle by living in a small apartment rather than the bishop’s residence, which was quite elegant. He cooked his own meals and used public transportation.
His support of the LGBTQ community was significant. His willingness to bless individuals who were in a same-sex relationship seemed like a step forward. As was his willingness to have people who have transitioned baptized.
His televised statement on 2013 called, “Who am I to judge” was memorable. In 2013 he said, “if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this in a beautiful way, saying ... "no one should marginalize these people for this, they must be integrated into society". The problem is not having this tendency, no, we must be brothers and sisters to one another, and there is this one and there is that one.”
I still wish that Pope Francis would have been able to bring about the possibility of married priests and women priests. As a Presbyterian pastor I’ll always be committed to female pastors. The first preachers of the resurrection were women. It seems odd for me that any religious community would prevent women from being pastors. If God was willing to trust women to be the first to share the news of the resurrection, I believe that God would want women to be pastors and priests.
Pope Francis was a man of firsts. He was the first pope to be a Jesuit, he was the first pope who was Latin American and the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope to be born and raised outside of Europe since the 8th century.
Pope Francis set a standard for all future popes. His example of humility and desire to help the poorest of the poor will define his beautiful legacy. I hope that all religious leaders will continue to learn from his example. This Presbyterian will always have a place in my heart for this terrific religious leader.
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