In A world ravaged by wars and agitations, Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis who died on Easter Monday did his best to defuse tensions. He was a man of peace who sought peace in every part of the world. He did not only speak for peace, he worked and walked for it, as much as his frail health could carry him.
When he celebrated Mass with the faithful worldwide on Easter Sunday, his only message, as usual, was peace in the world. Peace in our hearts and peace in our homes for the world to be livable for all. The Pope would have wanted to do more, but he went as far as his health would allow him. As he sat on his wheelchair by a window at his Vatican residence from where he greeted the world at Easter, it was plain that the Pope was in pain.
But he put up a brave face to address global ills and what should be done to make the world a better place for all. Unknown to those gathered on the grounds of the Vatican and the millions watching on television and following him online worldwide, he was making his final farewells. It was to be the Pope’s last Easter celebrations as the Bishop of Rome and the foremost Catholic in the world.
A Russian leader, Joseph Stalin at the height of the power and glory of the now crumbled USSR, was so carried away that he rhetorically wondered: “how many divisions does the Pope have?” The Pope’s power does not lie in military might, it is in his moral force, which is more powerful than the strength of all the combined armed forces of the world. Whenever the Pope speaks, whether in times of peace or conflict, the world listens.
The Pope does not need an army to do that because the God that he works for does not fight with troops. Presidents, prime ministers and kings hold him in awe. The Pope might not wield the political and monarchical powers of temporal leaders, but his spiritual power places him on a higher pedestal than them. He commands much respect because of his moral and spiritual force.
Thus, Pope Francis’ spiritual and moral authority gave him the voice to speak the way he did. The Pope was sought after, and not the other way round. No leader refuses to see the Vatican Head of State; never. Such is the the respect, honour and integrity that the Pope commands. Yes, Pope’s are humans, but they are of a different species of homo sapiens. They give their lives to serve the Lord and humanity, living in a cloistered home where they are constant in season and out of season, while their concerns remain what is going on around the world.
Pope Francis brought a common touch to his Papacy. He was at home with the poor, the lost, the forgotten and the migrant. He lived for the wretched of the earth and fought their cause with all he had. He knew he held a powerful office with a strong voice. Even though his weak health strained his own voice, the voice of his office rang out loud and clear wherever he went to. He walked among kings, but he never trampled upon serfs.
He was the leader of Catholics worldwide which number is said to be 1.4 billion, but Christendom and the global community are the Pope’s constituency. The Pope never speaks for Catholics or even Christians alone, he speaks for the world. He was concerned with happenings in Israel, Lebanon, Poland, Azerbaijan as he was with developments in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In short, the Pope was everywhere because humanity is universal.
Francis was an uncommon Pope who took office after his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI resigned on health grounds. He chose the name Francis after the order of Francis of Assisi, the Catholic friar, who became a beggar and itinerant preacher in pursuit of his vow of poverty, chastity and obedience. Pope Francis lived such a life too. Though surrounded by opulence at the Vatican, he never shut his eyes to the suffering of the poor, the lost and the hungry around him and across the world.
Indeed and in truth, the Pope fought a good fight; he finished his course; he kept the faith. He has gone to the House of his Father in heaven for the crown that awaits all those who finish well. Rest well, Pope, you made the world a better place with your messages of peace. It will not be out of place if you are considered posthumously for the Nobel Prize for Peace. After all, you referred to destitute as the “noble beings of the earth”. It will be noble for you to win the Nobel.
Credit:The Nation