Vatican City, Apr 21, 2025 / 06:20 am
Pope Francis has died at 88.
Indian Prime Minister Modi: Pope Francis was ‘beacon of compassion’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that Pope Francis will “always be remembered as a beacon of compassion, humility, and spiritual courage.”
Modi said on X on Monday morning that he was “deeply pained” by the pope’s passing earlier in the day.
“From a young age, he devoted himself towards realizing the ideals of Lord Christ. He diligently served the poor and downtrodden. For those who were suffering, he ignited a spirit of hope,” Modi wrote.
The pope’s “affection for the people of India will always be cherished,” he said.
King Charles: Pope will be remembered for compassion, care for creation
Britain’s King Charles III on Monday said the Royal Family was “deeply saddened” to learn of Pope Francis’ passing early on Monday morning.
“His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church, and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others,” Charles said.
“His belief that care for creation is an existential expression of faith in God resounded with so many across the world,” the king noted.
Charles noted that he and Queen Camilla were able to meet with Pope Francis earlier this month.
“We send our most heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy to the Church he served with such resolve,” the king said.
New Zealand bishops: Francis stressed ‘the importance of walking together’
Pope Francis “knew the appeal and the impact of the papacy in all corners of the globe,” Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe said on Monday at the news of the Holy Father’s passing, hailing the pope for his global outreach over the course of his pontificate.
“While he didn’t set foot on our shores, we know the deep love that Pope Francis had for the Catholic faithful scattered across the world,” Lowe, the president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said in a Monday morning statement.
“The Holy Father reminded us of the importance of walking together as the entire people of God — laypeople, religious women and men, and clergy — following the path of Jesus,” he said.
Lowe urges Christians around the world to “join us in lifting up our departed brother in prayer.”
U.S. bishops: Pope will be remembered for ‘outreach to those on the margins’
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) mourned the death of Pope Francis on Monday, hailing him for “his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society” during his historic pontificate.
USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio said in a Monday morning statement that Francis “was marked by his experience as a Jesuit and a shepherd in Buenos Aires.”
“The passage from this life of the bishop of Rome calls us to pray for his eternal rest and to continue on our path to a deeper union with the Lord Jesus,” Broglio wrote.
“We remember his leadership in inspiring nations, organizations, and individuals to a renewed commitment to care for each other and our common home.”
The U.S. bishops “unite in prayer with Catholics here and around the world and all people of goodwill in gratitude for the life of our revered shepherd.”
Italian soccer matches postponed after pope’s death
Multiple Italian soccer matches have been postponed after Pope Francis died on Monday.
The National Professional League Serie A announced that seven different matches would be delayed “to a later date” after the death of the Holy Father.
Several football clubs publicly mourned the pope’s passing on Monday morning.
“His faith, humility, courage, and dedication touched the hearts of millions, making him a moral compass of our time and beyond,” the Roma club said on X.
Macron: Pope ‘wanted the Church to bring joy and hope’
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he and his wife, Brigitte, “send our thoughts to all Catholics and to the grieving world” after the news of Pope Francis’ death.
“From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest,” the president said. “May it unite people with each other and with nature. May this hope continually revive beyond him.”
Italian Prime Minister Meloni: Pope gave ‘comfort in very difficult moments’
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday reflected on Pope Francis’ pontificate, saying that she and the Holy Father had “a more active relationship” than was publicly seen, one that went “well beyond our respective institutional roles.”
“We’ve met many times, even just to exchange opinions. He was able to give comfort in very difficult moments, I have many memories of the pope,” she told the Italian government broadcaster RAI.
“We say goodbye to the Holy Father with a heart full of sadness,” the prime minister’s office said in an official statement.
White House responds to pope’s death: ‘May God rest his soul’
The White House on Monday responded to the news of Pope Francis’ death with a brief tweet on X on Monday morning.
“Rest in peace, Pope Francis,” the White House said, including two pictures of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance meeting the pontiff.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Monday, meanwhile, mourned Pope Francis’ passing, reflecting briefly on his meeting with the pontiff just hours before his death.
“My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him,” the vice president said on a post on X.
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” Vance said, referring to his meeting with the pope the day before on Easter Sunday.
Vance said he would “always remember” the pope’s homily delivered on March 27, 2020, amid the start of the COVID-19 crisis. “It was really quite beautiful,” the vice president said.
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God bless his soul and may he rest in peace.
Amen.
Sure, we hope & pray that this pope is accepted by King Jesus Christ, his Sole Judge.
But should we be papering over some obvious contraindications? Recalling that Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said in an announcement Monday –
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,”.
Yet, many sincere Catholics are discombobulated by such saccharine eulogies, asking:
“To the father & lord of those who say all religions are the same?”
“To the father & lord of those who say God’s commandments are wrong?”
“To the father & lord of those who make Jesus Christ and His Apostles into liars by saying there is no hell?”
“To the father & lord of those who protect sexual abusers & dismiss their victims?”
“To the father & lord of those who hand Chinese Catholics over to Marxist monsters?”
And so on.
We must hope that time will bring the truth out into the light.
Meanwhile, RIP dear Pope Francis 1.
Perhaps we’ll need papering over as well! 😇
If Pope Francis erred by emphasizing God’s Mercy to the exclusion of God’s Justice, that is all the more reason why we should pray for Pope Francis to receive God’s Mercy. May he rest in peace.
Now, a pope from Africa.
As we mourn Pope Francis’ death with hope for eternal life, this writer underscores the words of political commentator Marc Thiessen who responded with typical cold accuracy words to the effect, If the morbidly sick are told by the doctor you’re fine, all will be well, rather than this is what you must do to get well and live – he’s misleading him.
Additionally. We mustn’t presume on the basis of our disagreement with Pope Francis on doctrinal interpretation, that he was universally mistaken regarding Christ’s message of charitable mercy, reaching out to the less fortunate, and the disabling effect of clericalism. His positive legacy is this proactive feature of compassion.
His legacy is Traditionis Custodes and doctrinal mayhem. Lets hope Catholics can take back their Church from the Apostates.
Father Peter, to reach out to the disadvantaged of this world is good when a person is not a Christian. Yes, I deliberately made this “outrageous” statement to highlight the fact that the goodness of a Christian is supposed to tend to the Person of Christ, His Goodness. Obviously, we are all imperfect; I am speaking about the vector towards Christ. This vector prevents many deviations and mistakes. It forces a person to be consistent in his charitable activities and sober about himself.
Usually, it is natural for a person to be more forgiving and charitable towards his nearest. Christians are called to expand this circle to outsiders. In PF’s case we see the opposite vector: he prosecuted his own and acted “charitably” towards outsiders. He failed to defend the victims of abuse; instead, he kept abusers as his friends and he also engaged in “charitable” acts which all targeted the appreciation of the world. The appreciation by the world not of Christ but of himself. He issued various decrees which targeted those who want to pray to God = One Who is above and who do not want to worship men.
If PF was some secular non-Christian dude, I would not have any problem with him. Some dudes who are so desperate to be liked that they can do some good (albeit they often wreck others and themselves, as a side-effect of their indiscriminate activity). Imagine a person who thinks he is the most compassionate man in the world. He begins doing “good” which is unchecked by spiritual sobriety = ethics = morals. He does it because he wants others to recognize him as “so compassionate and so humble”. He gets his admires who add to his spiritual delusion. And so he goes. If he is a Pope, he has all the tools to become “the most humble and most man merciful in history”. Slowly and unnoticeably, he becomes bigger than Christ, in his own mind and in the minds of his followers. Can such a man do some good? – yes. Can this good corrupt the Church – absolutely, because it is not submitted to Christ. If such a man was submitted to Christ he would never dare, for example, “to cancel” the Latin Mass which his predecessor wanted to be used together with the newer Mass, seeing in the former the rich source of a true spirituality. He would not keep abusers next to himself because it is contrary to Christ – and contrary to normal human empathy. He would not wash the feet of Muslims because he would know that the ritual is not about him but about Christ and Christ washed the feet of his disciples – and the Muslims are not. But, since he put Christ aside, he made the Mass of the Last Supper about him i.e. a show of his own “utmost humility”.
The worst thing about this is that the disease of “I am, not Christ” spread very widely and deeply in the Church. Many priests all around the world saw PF as a lens in which their personalities were reflected and delivered to glory. And this covert overthrowing Christ, swapping Him with “us, beloved” (officially expressed in ‘Synod of Synodality’) is the true legacy of PF. It is the cancer in the Church and I have no idea how it will recover.
When we become Christians, our actions acquire some theological/metaphysical aspect. Psychology joins with theology, just like two natures in One Person of Jesus Christ. And so, PF’s “charity” cannot be viewed out of the context of Our Lord. To see it as it is, one really must verify it by the Person of Christ.
A good assessment Anna of the apparent interior motivation of Francis I, his self aggrandizement. That based on his supporting actions, the aggregation of abusers at the Vatican, the persecutions of the just. As it appears then he was focused on himself to the extent that he sought to surpass Christ, in his own self indulgent grandiosity. These were behaviors for which I considered him at least a type of Antichrist.
Insofar as the visual effect of his outreach toward the less fortunate, while his motivations may have been tainted, the example on face value led the innocent to believe he was a just man.
The effect of these works on the faithful [Francis’ actual acts plus his messaging], simply because they were visually charitable, despite the deleterious motivation of the agent did have a good effect on the innocent. Although their purpose was to deceive. To reinforce the validity of his heterodoxy. Anna. Even the Devil can convey a believable image of sanctity in his words and actions.
His cleverness is in achieving good effects to disguise the evil. I make this observation in fear of my own judgment before Our Lord because it needs to be said for the sake of the great number of those who have been deceived in taking a path to perdition. There must now be a clear, pronounced return to Christ’s revelation and their Apostolic witness.
Insofar as I perceived Pope Francis, I had preferred not to judge his actual motivations and leave that to God. My thoughts were he may have sincerely believed that his approach, his heterodoxy was necessary for the good of the Church. Nonetheless, his motivations seemed evident whatever he may have believed regarding their effect for good or evil.
For example, his treatment of Cdl Burke, his ad hoc firings of Cdl Gerhard Muller’s finest priest assistants in identifying homosexual abusive clergy, his reinstatement of convicted and laicized child rapist priest Mauro Inzoli, his advancement to Cdl of then bishop McElroy, a manifest doctrinal heretic and many other like incidents all deserving admonition.
Yes Fr Peter, the Antichrist is one who is so much more merciful, kinder, more selfless than Christ. To those who know Christ it is absurd. There is one bulletproof way to see whether a priest/Pope is genuine or not. Observe how he speaks about Christ – if he speaks at all (such priests tend to reduce mentioning Christ to a bare minimum beneficial for their personal purposes). Such a person may speak of Christ in general but he will show no intimate connection with Him. He will never do what a priest I knew did – while discoursing on the episode of Christ and his disciples being in the boat while the storm began with Christ peacefully sleeping, he interrupted himself and said “I wonder how He could sleep?” with a puzzlement and a touch of disapproval. He lived it, he connected to Christ as a living person. This is something a narcissist priest never does.
His discourse lacks personhood. Christ is not his constant reference. He has no attachment to Him. This is something a narcissist/sociopath cannot fake – they can fake everything else including “pastoral care” but not this. A further test – propose to him something that is objective, based on the Canon, on the Church’s rules, something he does not do but must do. He will be unhappy. On the other hand, such a person will grant you your desire, if your desire is something to do with you only i.e. subjective. For example, if you come to such a priest and say “I would like to have this image in the church because I personally love it” he is likely to grant your desire, especially if you show that he is grand and you are nothing. But, if you say “such an image was here before you came, it was very beneficial for all to pray before it, please return it” he will not do that because doing so would not contribute to his glory of “the most inclusive person in the world”, he would not become your BENEFACTOR – unlike the first case. From here follows that such a priest/Pope never does anything for Christ’s/Church’s sake = objectively good. He does only “nice” things which build his image up thus the Church, being an objective body created by Christ, begins crumbling and turning into its opposite.
I cannot overestimate the fact that such people cannot stand the rules. It is precisely what we see during the reign of PF: if he was respectful of the rules the Church established, he would do none of what he has done i.e. actions which scandalized many.
Archbishop Chaput made this comment:
“As a brother in the faith, and a successor of Peter, he deserves our ongoing prayers for his eternal life in the presence of the God he loved.
Having said that, an interregnum between papacies is a time for candor. The lack of it, given today’s challenges, is too expensive. In many ways, whatever its strengths, the Francis pontificate was inadequate to the real issues facing the Church. He had no direct involvement in the Second Vatican Council and seemed to resent the legacy of his immediate predecessors who did; men who worked and suffered to incarnate the council’s teachings faithfully into Catholic life. His personality tended toward the temperamental and autocratic. He resisted even loyal criticism.”
His legacy is Traditionis Custodes and doctrinal mayhem. Lets hope Catholics can take back their Church from the Apostates.
Giving what we may or may not know, my prayer for Pope Francis is simply “may God have mercy on his soul” trusting in the mystery that God’s, judgement, mercy and grace perfect by synergies beyond our comprehension.
We mourn him, we pray for him, and that’s all we do.
There will be much time for many learned voices to be raised, but for now – we mourn him, we pray for him.
The dialogue here on the “Pope of the people” shows a vitriol and disparagement of the deceased “Bergoglio,” the name frequently used by those who should never “throw the first stone”. The innuendo reveals much fervor, but few details.
Seems like the court of opinion will rage on with the use of terms that Pope Francis often used. Love, not hate, compassion, not repulsion, build bridges, not walls, plea to remember the poor, being a homosexual is not a sin. I have a Gay friend. Am I supposed to isolate him and reject him?
We must love our neighbor. Inclusion, not isolation, which in some cases causes violence. The Church opposes the Gay lifestyle. I believe that Francis thought the act was sinful. Will the upcoming conclave seek to “solve” the issue?
Harken to the signs of support when many thousands prayed in the courtyard of the Vatican, and condolences from millions around the world on April 21st. The real evidence of support will come from the Conclave and the entire communion of clerics.
Pray for Pope Francis. I will.
My prayer with the passing of this Pope is that the Holy Spirit guides the Cardinal-electors to give the Church a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and one who teaches the faithful consistent with the Church’s true Magisterium.