Both the secular and the religious media are giving extensive coverage to the news of the Pope’s passing, and the fact that this surprises no one is itself significant. As I write, I largely have in mind people who might still choose to describe themselves as ‘Protestants’ or ‘Evangelicals’, but the meaning of these labels is becoming increasingly contested. So I’ll be as universal and indeed as ‘catholic’ as possible and address anyone who happens to be reading these words!
Much has been made of Francis’ personality, that he was the ‘people’s pope’ with a common touch, with his typical Argentine love of football and flair for dancing the tango, that he used to be a janitor and a bouncer; his concern for the poor and marginalised, his humility and simplicity, his relatively liberal outlook in relation to the future of the Roman Catholic Church, his interest in social justice and climate change; the fact that he was the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name ‘Francis’, self-consciously paying tribute to Francis of Assisi (c.1181-2226). He had strengths, he had weaknesses. He sought modernization; he was not as clear has he might have been on issues of sexual morality. Read an obituary in any reputable publication and all these facts will be rehearsed.
