The Passion of Pope Francis – by Francis X. Rocca

Outreach to Islam was a signature theme of Francis s pontificate. He visited 13 Muslim-majority countries as pope and in 2019 issued a joint statement with a prominent Muslim cleric, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb, in support of human fraternity. It included a renunciation of violence in the name of religion. He also enjoyed good relations with Jewish leaders, but angered many in Israel when he likened the Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza to terrorism, and suggested that Israel should be investigated for genocide.

And so Francis was in many ways a highly polarizing and divisive leader. He was known for his conciliatory approach to LGBT issues, which won him much applause in the West. He famously signaled a new tolerance by asking, of gay priests, Who am I to judge? He also met with trans people on several occasions. But this liberalism put him at odds with socially conservative church leaders in Catholicism s fastest-growing region, Africa. Bishops there openly protested Francis s decision in December 2023 permitting priests to bless same-sex couples and in an extraordinary reversal the next month, the pope agreed to exempt Africa from the practice.

He was also challenged by the Catholic Church s long-running scandal over clerical sex abuse, a problem he addressed reluctantly at times. His prolonged support of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse prompted fierce criticism by victims groups in 2018 and he ultimately took a harder line. But he was less severe than his predecessor about removing priests found guilty of abuse from ministry, and critics said that measures he instituted to make bishops more accountable were applied inconsistently and without transparency.

So, although the death of a pope is always a momentous and solemn event for his followers, some Catholics are doubtless mourning less deeply than others today. Yet at his most iconic, Francis could be a unifying, solitary presence. On March 27, 2020, at the nadir of the pandemic, he stood in an empty, dark, and rain-swept St. Peter s Square and invoked Christ crucified to offer hope to a shaken world. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful, he said. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: Do not be afraid.

via www.thefp.com