Pope Francis belonged to all of us, and not just the Catholic Church

Pope Francis belonged to all of us, and not just the Catholic Church

Pope Francis was not simply an inspired world leader. He wasn’t merely a ‘do-gooder’, a humanist. He was a person of faith.

The great power of the Catholic Church, as well as of any congregation, lies in the control of the revealed word. Although the message is attributed a divine origin, its dominion is political. In preaching the word of God, the Pope is a moralist with universal ambition. His judgments, based on a deep reflection on the meaning of the true, share them with other beliefs arising in very different societies. Religions, like traditions, standardize m…

“Pope Francis Belonged to All of Us,” said Cardinal Brislin during the Memorial Mass

In a heartfelt homily delivered during the Memorial Mass for Pope Francis held at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Johannesburg, Cardinal Stephen Brislin offered a powerful tribute to a Pope who transcended borders, divisions, and institutions. “Pope Francis belonged to all of us and not just the Catholic Church,” said Cardinal Brislin as he addressed people of all faiths who came to pay their last respects to Pope Francis, commonly referred …

Leader comment: Easter person

IN A tribute in The Times this week (“I’m an atheist — but I saw Pope Francis as a good guy”), the journalist Andrew Billen praised his subject for having been “more concerned with lives in the here and now than their post-mortem destinations”. He...