I was up early enough last Saturday morning to catch most of Pope Francis’ funeral live.  Over 200,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square. There were the cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons; over 130 foreign dignitaries (including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs); and an amazing array of ordinary folks. At one point the overhead camera panned over the foreign dignitaries and then on to the Pope’s plain wooden coffin. This simple contrast between these powerful people and the late pope made me think of a passage in Richard John Neuhaus’ book, Death On A Friday Afternoon, in which he recounts the experience of going down Fifth Avenue on Good Friday and walking past St. Patrick’s Cathedral during the Good Friday Service:

“In the Good Friday liturgy, the priests and deacons lie prostrate, collapsed before the cross. St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York is directly across from Rockefeller Center, and at the entrance to Rockefeller Center is the great sculpture of Atlas holding up the world. On Good Friday, the doors of the cathedral are opened, and you can see the great cross from the street. Turn in one direction and there is the mythical Atlas holding up the world; turn in the other, and there is the One broken by the world. Which image speaks the truth? Is the world upheld by our godlike strength or by the crucified love of God? Upon that decision everything, simply everything, turns.”

Some popes have captured the spirit of the times; other popes have moved counter to the spirit of the times, and Pope Francis was one of those. He never failed to remind world leaders what their priorities should be, and he did that to the annoyance of many of them. How do we keep his spirit alive? By committing ourselves to the causes that were close to his heart. What were some of them?  

(a)   The MarginalizedAny group that tended to be overlooked, invisible, or demonized was close to the heart of Pope Francis.  At Assumption, we partner with Chicago Help Initiative in its many services to the poor and the unhoused; we pass out food vouchers once a month; and we prepare sandwiches for distribution on Saturday mornings. If your schedule does not permit being actively engaged in these ministries, you can answer the call that was put out several months ago to “Become One in Three Hundred.” If 300 people offer a sustaining donation of $10 a month, we would have sufficient funds to finance these three ministries and more.

(b)   Immigrants Pope Francis was in touch with the terrible conditions that lead people to flee their homeland. It is important to remember that no person is ever illegal, even if they are in this country illegally. Everyone deserves to be respected as a human being and should enjoy basic human rights—which is not the case at the present time.

(c)   The Environment Pope Francis broke new ground in 2015 when he made care for our common home a moral imperative for Catholics. This goes against what seems to be the prevailing attitude of surrendering to or trying to adopt to climate change—a solution that will not work in the long run, even for the most privileged among us who have the greater ability to adapt to climate change.

(d)   The Right to Life Pope Francis was a constant critic of the abortion mentality and pushed to amend the Catholic Catechism to make capital punishment a violation of church teaching. There are many ways to support the gift of life, from taking up the cause of the unborn to engaging in projects to reduce violence in our communities.

(e)   Peace Whether in the Gaza Strip or in Sudan or in Ukraine, the Pope spoke out against nations taking aggressive military action against another. He called upon us to build bridges and not walls. We can work to do that in our relationships in daily life.

(f)    A Synodal ChurchPope Francis was a frequent critic of clericalism—the sense of entitlement and arrogance among church leaders and officials. He envisioned what he called a synodal church, where clergy and laity together would listen to the call of the Spirit. The simplicity of his own life was a powerful witness to that. Here and in so many other ways he leaves us a vision for the future.

Fr. Joe