Pope Francis: A man who loved God, his neighbor and even his enemies

This morning I was saddened by the death of Pope Francis.

Pope Francis was a man of love, of inclusion, of welcoming. That shepherding was based on the gospel – the word of the Lord. He was never above God/Jesus. However, he followed the example They gave him and us.

Jesus was sent to change things. He walked the earth and said there are two commandments – Love God was the first.

All things emanate from loving God. It is fundamental to love God for giving us the world we live, and the lives we live..

The 2nd commandment was Love your neighbor. Jesus even added, “Love your enemy”.

How do you love your neighbor? You welcome them. You make them feel at home. You care for them. You help them. You give of yourself to them.

Pope Francis loved all people. Loving the traditional, the Catholic, the Christians is easy, but he went beyond those borders:

• In his Fratelli Tutti encyclical, he called for universal fraternity beyond all boundaries—religious, national, or social—affirming that everyone is created in the image of God.

• During actions during travel, whether washing the feet of refugees (including Muslims, women, and non-Catholics), visiting prisons, or comforting migrants, Francis constantly embodied the Gospel principle that “whatever you did for the least of these… you did for me.”

• He once said that “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

• He has publicly supported civil unions for same-sex couples, saying they have a right to legal protection, even as he upholds Church teaching on marriage.

• He’s met with LGBTQ+ individuals and advocacy groups, expressing love and pastoral care. He wrote letters of encouragement to Catholic parents of LGBTQ+ children, telling them, “God loves your children as they are.”

• In 2019, he signed the Document on Human Fraternity with Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi—an unprecedented interfaith gesture promoting peace and coexistence.

• He called the Jewish people the “elder brothers” of the Christian faith and has participated in Holocaust memorials, fostering dialogue and reconciliation.

• After the death of George Floyd, he called out the sin of racism, saying, “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form.”

How do you love your enemy?

There is good and bad in the world. God gave us a choice to go down this path of righteousness or go down this other path of sin. We all make mistakes (sin). Sometimes those mistakes hurt us/other people. We learn to forgive. That is part of love.

Sometimes we have trouble fully forgiving. It takes two to tango or the wrong is just too egregious/hurtful. We learn to pray as a form of loving our enemy and hoping they have a “come to Jesus moment”/they change.

Pope Francis had enemies, but he still loved them:

• He has faced intense opposition from within the Church, including public criticism by some bishops, cardinals, and traditionalist groups. Instead of retaliating, he has responded with patience, prayer, and humility. He often said, “I am a sinner,” acknowledging his own faults and refusing to elevate himself above those who disagree with him. He invited a group of conservative U.S. bishops—some critical of his papacy—to the Vatican for dialogue, not rebuke. He welcomes honest disagreement and says the Church must be a place where people can speak freely without fear.
• After terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere, he repeatedly urged forgiveness and peace—not retaliation.
• He has prayed for those who persecute Christians, especially in the Middle East and Africa, urging people not to return evil for evil.
• He said that “Forgiveness does not mean impunity… but we can still love those who do us wrong. Loving an oppressor does not mean allowing them to keep oppressing.”
• He regularly led prayers for those who cause division, conflict, or war, asking God to “change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.”

In the world that is in flux where I often ask “what would Jesus do”, I could also ask what Pope Francis would do. He was a breath of fresh air for me/for many in a world where I/others wonder, “Was that what Jesus would do?”.

Now, I am not naive enough to not understand that sometimes hard decisions need to be made in the “business/real world” that don’t fit in the religious world. Nevertheless, if all can’t be happy, there is a right way and a wrong way of “doing it” (whatever that “it” is). HINT: Bringing a chainsaw to a DOGE rally is not the right way. Name calling, threatening, shaking down is not the right way. The “Art of the Deal” has pain and suffering as part of the “art”. Is that Christ-like? Many people are suffering now.

Of course, Pope Francis made changes within his “business” and the hierarchy of the cardinals, bishops, etc. within the Vatican that are the equivalent of a demotion, taking a voice away from someone. Moreover, the Catholic faith did not do enough with regard to the priest sexual abuses. The role of woman within the church could see some more change (deacons?). How the church deals with divorce can be archaic at times and incongruent with Christ-like. Some may ask, “Why doesn’t the Vatican sell some of its vast art collection for charity”?

There is/was room for improvement that could be more Christ-like. Nothing is perfect, but Pope Francis has made strides – big strides in each of those issue too. He didn’t just push issues under the rug. He asked the people what their issues were and he left the world listening and looking to advance the Catholic faith, and make the world a better place as well.

Pope Francis was a voice based on loving God, neighbor and even enemy. He also was a leader not just of the Catholic faith, but was an example to other faiths as well – both Christian and non-Christian.

Rest in heavenly peace Holy Father, and may God bless those making the decision for the next Pope. May they focus on the model of your Son, Jesus Christ, and of the man of love, Pope Francis.