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By now the entire world knows of the death of Pope Francis. May God grant him eternal rest.
Over the next several days, much will be discussed about his legacy. Some of it will be favorable, some not. Many remember the wonderful examples of mercy that he embodied – washing the feet of prisoners, sharing lunch with the homeless, his tireless efforts on behalf of migrants and the poor. His emphasis on mercy was a welcome message in today’s harsh world. At the same time, his ambiguity in his words and statements led to no little confusion among Catholics, and the specter of the sexual abuse crisis continues to overshadow his reign.
We must remember that the life of a Pope is like all men, an admixture of good and bad, virtue and vice. While we remember and mourn, we do so with charity towards his legacy - not impugning motives or seeing him with political eyes, but reverencing the holy office that he occupied. Our time must be profitably spent in prayers for his soul. He now stands before the judgement seat of Christ, as we all will, and with the burden of the papacy on his shoulders - we owe it to him, as our spiritual father, to pray for his eternal rest and salvation.
Also over the next few days, we will be inundated with news reports about "what's next for the Church?" Many secular news stations and websites (and even Catholic ones) are seeing this through merely a political lens. Some will advocate for a “progressive” candidate while some will want a “conservative” – yet these terms cannot be applied to the Church! In the Church there is not “liberal” or “conservative” – there is only whether or not a person is faithful to Christ and what He has revealed as truth, in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
The Church is much more than another organization filled with warring factions and political maneuvering. Without a doubt there is some of that, but there is also the Holy Spirit, the divine Founder, and the reality that the Church includes the saints in Heaven and the souls in Purgatory. The Church is both human and divine, and its divine charter and mission (to make disciples of every nation, baptizing them, and teaching them) can never and will never change - this is Christ's promise, that the gates of Hell will not prevail over His Bride, for which He gave up His life.
We must keep this in mind, not wasting our time on useless projections or uncharitable remembrances. Keep looking to Christ, praying for His Church, doing our part to purify it through holy lives, and praying for His departed servant Pope Francis.
More on this next week when we discuss the conclave…
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