April 24, 2025
A few months ago, I wrote a blog on this blog page about Pope Francis and his invocation to students in a university to follow the rugged terrain to real peace rather than engaging in ivory tower preaching. In some of my recent opinion pieces I also referred to his words of wisdom, the one that particularly appears striking now was his admonition to leaders who thrive on fear and insecurity of masses.
As widely covered in the media – Pope Francis has many firsts to his credit. He was the first Pope in history to adopt the name St. Francis to speak for the poor and marginalized. I should emphasize that for this Pope, the poor and marginalized do not belong to one region or religion, but all over the globe. He was courageous enough to admit the wrongs committed by the church and take corrective measures to end or at least minimize those wrongs. During a visit to Alberta, Canada, in 2022, the Pope said, “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.” His apology to the indigenous people there might appear symbolic, but it also bore a powerful message – that the highest figure in the Catholic church is not condoning past wrongs, and is coming forward to heal past wounds in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. In this world of narrow identity constructions, where leaders take care to shield the people of their identity, the Pope took steps to call out names within his religion and took steps to address them.
Pope Francis was the first one from the global south to reach the highest position in the Catholic church hierarchy. While moving to Rome from Argentina, the Pope did not forget his region. Rather he used his authority and took steps to address corruption in as he did in Chile. His actions to address abuses in church in Chile and in other parts of the world were something one should keep in mind and celebrate.
The Pope minced no words against assertive politics worldwide. At one occasion he emphasized that democratic elections are not without problems, but the voters must follow their conscience while electing their leaders. This sentiment reminds me of the famous writing of James Madison in Federalist 51, “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” Pope’s utterances against political corruption reflected the wisdom of Madison, and his appeal to promote robust citizenry and civic culture is relevant in our contemporary world.
The Pope intervened wherever he thought it was necessary to promote peace and stability. He transcended divisions created by ideologies, and worked on promoting peaceful relations among nations. His intervention to develop good relations between the US and Cuba is something noteworthy. He wrote letters to US President Barack Obama and Cuban ruler Raul Castro to normalize bilateral relations.
Pope Francis was among the rare souls who believed in dialogue. He was in favor of interreligious dialogue and collaboration. To put it in a figurative way, he supported the idea of clasp of civilizations, in place of much popular clash of civilizations. The idea of dialogue of civilization is not new, but the emphasis on such dialogues is quite relevant as religious identity-based conflicts have increased in recent times. The 2019 Abu Dhabi declaration on world peace and living together, signed by Pope Francis along with other leaders, appealed to “every upright conscience that rejects deplorable violence and blind extremism; an appeal to those who cherish the values of tolerance and fraternity that are promoted and encouraged by religions.”
The conflicts around the world – whether between Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, or Koreas, or in South Asia, they all indicate the clash of values, whether based on religious identity or historical grievances, but they also call for urgent action to bring peace to these troubled regions. The Pope on many occasions called for peace and urged parties to disengage from violence. According to a report, as the conflict was raging in Middle East, he called frequently church leaders there to find out the situation on the ground, and to work for peace. Gandhi would certainly support such activism of the Pope. In one of my recently coauthored book, Beyond Othering, I emphasized how such ideas are relevant in our modern times. The Pope’s emphasis on peace and dialogue not only generates optimism, but also ignites in the minds of leaders and policymakers to think about problem solving in a peaceful way.
It may not be an exaggeration to say that the Pope had a 360-degree vision – his vision embraced everyone, irrespective of gender, economic status, region or any other identity. He remained throughout his life a champion of an egalitarian order, in which every individual has self-worth and the right to live a dignified life. In that emphasis he departed from some of his predecessors who wanted a rigid interpretation of religion. But the Pope and his activism remained centered on the poor and marginalized. He raised his voice against violence – whether local, regional or international – and discrimination – whether based on race, gender, color or any other identity – and remained active until his last breath. It may not perhaps be just a coincidence that he departed after saying goodbye to his followers on Easter.
The ideas and activism of Pope Francis, to me, would reverberate for many generations to come. He was a man who exemplified love and compassion, and who fought for the poor and marginalized until his last breath.
