Il Papa, the Good Shepherd has Gone On

 

by Pa Rock

I am not a religious person.  When I was a child our family could often be found in either a Methodist or Baptist Church - but  only on Easter and Christmas - and sometimes I would be dropped off for Sunday School on days when my parents, who both worked, needed to be doing other things and did not want me and my little sister underfoot.  Opportunistic baby-sitting.  I converted to Catholicism while in college and attended church fairly regularly during young adulthood, but fell away as I aged.  Religion was not an important part of my life, and I have no regrets about not being associated with it today.

I may have fallen, but religion in America, especially fundamentalist Christianity, has fallen further and harder.   Christian nationalism has become nothing more than a moldering cesspit constantly being heated and stirred by leaders whose gods are hate, bigotry, and greed.

But against that sorry backdrop, one Christian leader arose whose focus was truly on the needs of his people - and all people - and on the planet that was their home.  That man was Pope Francis, and he died yesterday in Rome.  The Pope passed away on what for him would have been a remarkably sweet spot on the calendar - the day between Easter and Earth Day.

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian parents who had immigrated to South America from Italy.  His family was wealthy, but the future Pope turned his back on wealth and dedicated himself to working among and for the poor, first as a priest, and later as a member of the Church hierarchy in Buenos Aires where he was known as the "Bishop of the Slums."  Later, after his elevation to Pope, some referred to Francis as the "Pope of the Slums."

The late Pope was a man of many firsts:  the first member of the Jesuit Order to ascend to the papacy, the first from Latin America, the first to be born south of the equator, and the first to assume the name "Francis," after St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order which was known for its emphasis on poverty and service.

Cardinal Bergoglio ascended to the Throne of St. Peter in 2013, the 266th person to rule over the Catholic Church.   He succeeded Pope Benedict XVI who resigned the papacy.  Pope Francis was seen as one of the Church's most progressive leaders with his interests in working with the poor and disadvantaged, immigrants and displaced peoples, and the LGBTQ population, as well as caring for the planet.  His liberal views on modern life were unpopular within some of the Church's conservative hierarchy, and Francis ruffled more than a few feathers for reassigning some of his critics to less prominent roles in the Church, or relieving them of duties altogether.    There were several important Catholic conservatives in the United States who were particularly vocal in their criticism of Pope Francis.  

And there were multitudes, including this befuddled old typist, who regarded Pope Francis as the best and most caring Pope of their lifetimes - the brightest light to shine in the Vatican in centuries.

Rest well, Il Papa.   You will be sorely missed by your flock - even the strays.