The Gospel according to Pope Francis

Pope Francis, the first Latin American Pontiff, died shortly after Easter Sunday. He bade a literal farewell to a Vatican crowd a day before, signaling the end of an era of perhaps the most compassionate and well-loved popes in recent memory.

He visited the Philippines in 2015 to comfort the victims of Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City, one of the worst cyclones in memory that even cut off power in nearby Bohol for one month.

Then, the Argentine pontiff spoke to six million people at the Luneta, the largest papal rally attendance in history. We watched him from a distance that time, but we could still feel the palpable glow of holiness surrounding his figure.

Though educated as a chemist, Papa Kiko reformed the Vatican finances, which were in shambles when he arrived. The Banco Ambrosiano had earlier defrauded the Vatican Bank of $250 million, and the financier Roberto Calvi was found hanging under the Blackfriars Bridge a few days later.

Another highly placed cardinal conspired with a shady Italian magnate in 2014 and bought the Vatican some London building shares of stocks for $400 million. These were later resold at a much lower $100 million, indicating a ton of kickbacks and self-dealing. Six people, including the cardinal, were jailed.

Pope Francis formed a world-class team of financial consultants to move the Vatican City away from “budget deficit spending” through cost-cutting measures like salary reductions, freeze hiring and stricter project financing and receivable policies. His order was “let the Vatican make money for the poor.”

Pope Francis cast away material pretensions of pomp and grandeur of the papacy by his subdued lifestyle and a preferential option for the poor in all his spiritual leadings. He left the world with only $100 as his earthly wealth.

On the other hand, his advocacies spoke eloquently of these preferred spiritual moorings. It constituted Pope Francis’ own Gospel as he saw it.

Immigration

Papa Kiko often spoke of the kind Samaritan who helped a wounded Jew along the wayside, attending to his wounds with oil and wine and paying for his recovery period at a nearby inn. In those times, Jews and Samaritans were mortal enemies. (Luke10:25-34)

He used this parable when he was asked how man can inherit the Kingdom of God, and Jesus merely said: “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Pope Francis made acceptance of migrants the hallmark of his pontificate and labeled those who erect barriers to migrants as committing a grave moral sin. In 2015, Pope Francis said “those who build walls and not bridges” are doing an un-Christian act. It is a fact that migrants in both Europe and America increased from 40 million in 1990 to 90 million in 2020.

Many of them were trying to escape poverty, criminality and political persecution in their home countries, and many of them are now also productive citizens. One must recall that the United States was founded by European migrants, and the only real true-blue Americans were the Indians, who are almost a vanished race today. Why is there discrimination against immigrants in the US now?

Corruption

Pope Francis believes that corruption, which has a destructive impact on individuals and society, is a grave sin. It harms personal integrity and “threatens the foundation of social equity.”

“Corruption distorts justice, undermines trust in institutions, leads to cynicism among citizens and harms the most vulnerable. Corruption leads to a culture where people justify their unethical behavior, and dishonesty becomes normalized and accepted.” Nothing could be as scathing a remark as that, and nothing quite as familiar to all of us here.

The pontiff continued with his tremendous homily, asking the corrupt to “recognize the gravity of their actions and seek redemption.” They were reminded that wealth and power do not bring happiness, and the “pursuit of wealth often leads to violence and moral decay.” Papa Kiko reminded them that ultimately, “they will face God’s judgment where this is no escape.”

Environment

In his first Ecological Encyclical, the head of 1.4 billion Catholics opined that we have to respect three relations: (a) with God, (b) the created world (environment) and (c) creatures (mankind). Since men are just stewards (not owners), any destruction of the planet is an assault against God’s plan. He deplored the world’s profit-driven economy, which results in a pile of dirt and the wanton abuse of the environment, which leads to climate change, which hurts the most vulnerable (poor) who can least afford to fend off disasters.

Ecumenism

No pope had shown such openness to ecumenism and wanted his Church to be open, inclusive and compassionate to ALL, welcoming all regardless of background and even religious beliefs than Papa Kiko. He visited and hosted in the Vatican the leaders of Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Methodist churches and prayed with Evangelicals. The Bishop of Rome encouraged interfaith services and dialogue by visiting the Muslims in Jordan and other Islamic believers in the Middle East. He visited many mosques and Buddhist temples.

The amiable Papa Kiko, who once served as a bouncer in an Argentine bar, said God came and died to save ALL, and there is no need for conversion to Catholicism to be saved. He said that even atheists who “search for the truth, goodness and beauty” of a Higher Being can become “our allies in defending human dignity and building peaceful coexistence.”

Church as ‘hospital’

Rather than a police force looking for sinners to punish, Pope Francis would rather liken his church to a hospital in the middle of a battlefield to tend in mercy to all the wounded and needy. Said the compassionate church leader: “It is useless to ask a seriously wounded person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugar. Heal the wounds first, Heal, heal, heal.” Then, you can talk about everything else, the wizened Catholic head concluded.

“The church needs the ability to heal wounds and warm hearts.” For that, it needs nearness, proximity.

Message to us all

Politics is not bad. In fact, the pope explicitly said that “honest engagement in politics is a noble vocation,” if for the good of society. For all of us, Pope Francis issued a challenge to play that role in fostering a culture of honesty and accountability in our society.

We are asked to engage in social and political issues for the “common good and the protection of the vulnerable.”

To his last breath, Papa Kiko was truly a “Man for Others” – a big heart for the marginalized, compassion for the vulnerable and enlightened liberality amid moral relativity, bigotry and regressive conservatism. Shalom.

Adios, Papa Kiko. “We all love you” is just not saying enough.

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