Pope Francis didn’t envision a heaven with gold-plated walls, pillars, and symbols of glory. Instead, his papacy focused on realizing a ‘heaven among us’ by prioritizing the values and joy of the Gospel. His heaven was not reduced to church sanctuaries but extended to the rejected, marginalised, and stigmatised. He was near the least. The stance Pope Francis has taken during his papacy represents a stand against greed and power, elements fundamentally opposed to the Gospel. Was he radical, yes radical following gospel values. Catholic beyond Catholicism, a Christian beyond Christianity.
For Francis, the Church was a home for all, always open for all. because Christ himself is the home of all and the way open for all always. He envisioned a church which essentially has tenderness, closeness, and compassion in clergy, laity, religious institutions, and church systems. He cherished the concept of the Church as a ‘Mother’ (Mater Ecclesia), and often warned against the dangers of the Church losing its essential motherly nature or ‘maternity’ which is characterised in patience, forgiveness, attitudes of welcome and openness, especially to sinners. When the Church lacks a motherly character, the church becomes rigid and disciplinarian, overly focusing on rules and doctrines without the warmth, tenderness, and compassion of a mother. The church ends up in being a ‘stepmother Church,’ an ‘orphanage,’ merely an efficient organisation’ losing its spiritual fruitfulness and maternal closeness to its children. A cold, judgmental, and unwelcoming Church fails to show the merciful face of God.
On similar note, he held the wounded world in compassion and mercy. He used the analogy of ‘field hospital after battle’ for the Church. The world is like a battlefield where many people are injured and suffering. He saw humanity as deeply wounded by sin, conflict, poverty, indifference, loneliness, and social injustices. Pope Francis believed the Church’s primary mission right now must be to heal these wounds. This means focusing on mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and accompaniment. To address the pain and abandonment, the Church must be actively present in the world, going out to the peripheries, seeking out those who are hurt, rather than waiting for them to come to its doors. The urgency is to live the core message of God’s love and mercy, warmth, nearness and offer healing before potentially burdening people with complex rules or doctrines they aren’t prepared for due to their woundedness.
Some labelled him a heretic, diluting core Catholic teachings and the Christian identity of the West. Pope Francis’s criticised those trapped in a ‘dogmatic box’ rather than a rejecting tradition itself, highlighting a distinction between rigid adherence and a living reverence for the past. The open criticism of the Pope also carries theological weight, considering the Catholic doctrine of papal primacy.
Pope Francis emphasized Jesus’ message of mercy and inclusion, welcomed marginalized groups. Many were worried that his approach watered down traditional Catholic teachings. This progressive bent contrasted sharply with the views of some conservatives who prioritized strict adherence to established interpretations of scripture and tradition. They failed to understand the pastoral kindness, the openness of the church to the world, and a needed Chrit-like nature. Truth of the dogmas cannot function as definitions and equations, they are to be the Word speaking to the wounded world.
He encouraged role of women in the Church, appointed women to important decision-making roles within the Vatican, allowed them to serve as lectors and acolytes in parishes, and permitted women to vote alongside bishops in certain Vatican meetings. He was criticized for feminising the church.
Some felt that the Pope’s actions demonstrated a lack of respect for tradition and alienated a segment of the faithful who cherished the older liturgical practices. The beauty and glory of traditions cannot be captured as they are preserved in amusement; it cannot be a museum piece ‘preserved,’ it is not handed over as some treasure boxed. Traditions grow and evolve and keep its continuity, and carry the present and takes a new form. It has happened in the past through history. Fixation to certain ‘traditions’ do not converse, it does not welcome, and speak language of mercy. He opposed clericalism which tarnished the face of the Church, and left many wounded.
He understood Christ so well that he was able to see the divine language in other religious traditions. He was sure that we are able to walk together amidst differences. Religious elites found a closed kingdom of God which was tightly closed by themselves; there was no place for Pope Francis in that kingdom of their God.
All these someway disturbed the enjoyment of power. He had the authenticity, humility, and courage to speak against the ugly power structures in the church. It was natural that he was ‘wrong’ in many ways. A few dubbed him the ‘antichrist.’ For some, he was foolish to meet people of all spheres, asking for communion, reconciliation, peace and forgiveness.
He also opposed greed. Greed generated an ugly face of humanity; those who won in the race and those who were victims of it. His opposition to war and his condemnation of greed during the COVID-19 pandemic often irritated many of them. What he always asked for was collaboration of all humanity.
He voiced strong criticisms on ‘unfettered capitalism’ and the ‘idolatry of money.’ He denounced economic models that prioritize profit over people, using powerful language to highlight the moral implications of such systems. “This economy kills,” he said. He called for a universal basic income, dignified wages, and working conditions, advocating for policies aimed at reducing inequality and ensuring a basic standard of living for all. he also condemned the ‘throwaway culture’ and excessive consumerism, linking these practices to environmental degradation and social disparities. He argued that the relentless pursuit of consumption and waste strained the planet's capacity and marginalized those deemed economically unproductive.
Many capitalist corporations were unhappy due to his strong critiques of economic inequality and environmental exploitation. Proponents of the free-market system in the US expressed unease with his criticisms, defending capitalism as a system that ultimately promotes innovation, wealth creation, and positive externalities for society. They succeeded translating their opposition in religious language and under traditions and pure theology, and accused him of socialist attachment.
His encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ gave a comprehensive theological framework for understanding the interconnectedness of social justice and environmental responsibility, directly challenging economic systems that prioritize short-term gains over the long-term well-being of both people and the planet. He was called an idol-worshipper, new age-satan, and a pantheist.
His opposition to war was also deeply connected to his broader theological vision of human fraternity and solidarity, as articulated in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. This vision emphasizes the interconnectedness of all people and the inherent wrongness of violence against one another. The warmongers who trade on ammunitions could not tolerate that.
Despite all oppositions, Pope Francis consistently used his platform to advocate for a more just, peaceful, and humane world, challenging established norms and calling for a fundamental shift in values and priorities. His willingness to directly critique economic systems and political decisions demonstrates a continuation of the Church's efforts to be a moral voice in the world, challenging injustice and advocating for the marginalized.
He was a true witness to the beatitudes, where the kingdom of God is of those such as these little ones. It is a challenge to those reinforce power over sharp divisions upon religion, ethnicity, language, nationality... Francis was 'wrong' because the 'right's could not allow a home of God open for all.
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