“Liberals think he’s going to ordain women and give the thumbs up to abortion and homosexual marriage. It’s the age of Aquarius, grab your tambourine! Let’s conga line through the Vatican. Alleluia, cha-cha-cha! Conservatives are in mourning, wailing and gnashing their teeth over the thought of Tango masses in St. Peter’s and women getting their feet washed on Holy Thursday. The Church is doomed! Doomed, I say. Did you see his tacky wooden pectoral cross? I could just die!”It seems the world cannot agree on where Francis fits. Schemas are malfunctioning as we stare in amazement: He stopped the Pope-mobile to bless someone? He spent years in poverty and devout prayer? He washed the feet of AIDS patients? Newsflash: the Church has always sought justice for the oppressed and forgotten. There’s no denying that the Church needed reminding of that, so thank goodness for this perfect leading example of mercy. But that is exactly what the Pope ought to be: a vessel for Christ to the world. As Francis says himself, "Christ is the centre of church, not the pope. Christ guides the church. The church has structure, but is not a political institution." Of course religion and politics will naturally meet. What many fail to realize is that the Church, although littered with politics from being part of this human world, is still very, very divine. As the universe hushed in that moment where His Holiness was being revealed on St Peter’s balcony, Jorge Mario Bergoglio emerged - mirroring that same surprised expression that the world was giving him. He is the choice that shook us all. I could just hear all the voices sharing the same phrase, But he wasn’t one of the candidates! Indeed he wasn’t. And that’s just the beauty of it. It just shows us that the Holy Spirit trumped what everyone thought to be a strictly political election process, and voila! “The Pope of Surprises”. Pope Francis is neither liberal nor conservative. Neither Green nor Puritan. He’s just Catholic, and he’s exactly what the world needs. And like any of the Popes before him, he’s merely revealing a different dimension of Christ ---- This blog comes to us from Leanna Cappiello, a former S+L intern who recently graduated from Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario. Leanna is currently living in New York City, where she works as an intern at the Holy See Mission to the United Nations. (Photo courtesy of CNS/ Catholic Press Photo)
We pray that through work, each person might find fulfillment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized.
Nicholas Jesson reflects on the late pope's achievements on the journey to Christian unity and human fraternity.
On Divine Mercy Sunday, 27 April, 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis' Secretary of State, presided over Mass and delivered the homily for the Second Day of the Novendiali and the Jubilee of Adolescents.
At 10 a.m. this morning, on the parvis of the Patriarchal Vatican Basilica, the Esequial Mass for the late Roman Pontiff, Pope Francis, was celebrated with deep reverence and solemnity. The Esequial Liturgy was concelebrated by the Cardinals and the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, with His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re presiding. Read the full text of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily below.
“That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.” (Address to Representatives of the Communications Media, March 16, 2013) We are deeply saddened by the death of our beloved Pope Francis on April […]