by Jeannie Connerney
In his 2013 Christmas message Pope Francis declared that “Peace is a daily commitment.” During the following twelve years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, he illustrated that commitment by pursuing global and interfaith dialogue, condemning conflict, and seeking a more inclusive Church.
The Pope died on April 21 at the age of 88, weeks after his release from a 5-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. Francis was the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit pope, and the first non-European pope in over 1,000 years. He visited 68 countries with his message of peace and social justice, including the Arabian Peninsula, the first pontiff to do so.
Francis’ papacy was marked by his belief that open dialogue could make peace possible; the word “pontiff,” he pointed out, means “bridge-builder.” He established a wider dialogue within his own hierarchy by diversifying the College of Cardinals to which he appointed more than 140 members from non-European countries. He attempted to heal the rift with the Eastern Orthodox Church, saying on his visit to Cyrpus, “Healing takes place when we carry our pain together, when we face our problems together, when we listen and speak to one another.” Visiting, meeting with, and befriending clergy from Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Sikh traditions, he declared, to the chagrin of some conservative Catholics, that “All religions are a path to God.”
In 2014, Pope Francis addressed the United States Congress. In addition to advocating for migrants and calling for greater respect for the environment and the eradication of poverty, he demanded an end to the death penalty and decried the sale of weapons. “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?” he asked. “Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”
Frequently critical of capitalism, Francis called globalization “a selective economic system,” which causes many to die from hunger.” In his encyclical “Praised Be’ he lamented, “This economy kills.”
During the 2016 presidential election, the Pope implied that Donald Trump was “not a Christian” for building walls to keep out migrants. More recently, the pontiff condemned President Trump’s deportations as “a major crisis” and countered Vice President Vance’s statement at the Vatican that immigrants should be cared for only after one’s family, community, and country. ‘Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests” Francis said.
In 2015 the pontiff hosted a meeting with Shimon Peres, President of Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. Together, the leaders prayed for peace and quoted from the Talmud, Bible, and Quran. He’d also acted as the liaison between the United States and Cuba, when the former was moving toward opening the long-closed relations between the two countries.
Pope Francis condemned all conflict, including the current wars in Sudan and Ukraine, calling the latter “an absurd and cruel war.” Throughout his papacy, he called repeatedly for Middle East peace. In 2015, two years after its recognition by the Holy See, the Vatican formally recognized the Palestinian state and asserted the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and freedom from occupation. Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire repeatedly, supported a genocide investigation, and said that Israel’s destruction of Gaza is not war, but “cruelty” and “terrorism.” Since October 7, 2023 he had phoned the single Catholic parish in Gaza every night to offer hope amidst unbearable suffering.
In his final public address on Easter Sunday, read by an archbishop due to his weakness, the Pope called again for a ceasefire in Gaza. He reiterated his commitment to peace uttered twelve years earlier: “May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenseless civilians and attack schools, hospitals, and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity.”
Perhaps his commitment is best illustrated by a prayer Pope Francis offered the world from his hospital bed weeks before his death: “May we transform evil into goodness and build a fraternal world. Do not be afraid to take risks for love.”
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Jeanne Connerney is a member of MAPA; Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment; Pax Christi; and Irish-Americans for Palestine, Boston.