One of the more controversial popes in recent history is gone, Save Jerseyans.
Pope Francis reportedly died early in the morning of Easter Monday following a protracted respiratory illness that saw him hospitalized for weeks. Francis was 88 years old.
The Catholic Church – whose membership exceeds one billion souls globally – will now begin the near-ancient process of selecting a new head of both the Church and the Vatican City state (the world’s smallest country by land area) by was of the “conclave,” when the Church’s cardinals gather and vote in secret in the Sistine Chapel.
Francis’s legacy will be mixed at best. While some Leftists celebrated his embrace of their values including climate change, lax immigration regulations, greater “inclusivity” and an apparant disdain for Donald Trump, conservatives critics note that Seminary enrollment and overally church attendance dropped during his reign due in no small part to the perception that the Argentinian Pope harbored anti-capitalist and, at time, anti-America positions.
“Pray for him and pray for the Church,” tweeted Bishop Joseph Strickland of Texas in uncharacteristicly understated language; Strickland is a frequent critic of Francis and the direction in which he’s taken the Church.
Vice President JD Vance – whose worldview couldn’t be more different than that of the late pontiff – offered a more conciliatory statement.
“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis,” posted Vance, a Catholic, on the X platoform. “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”
Vance was among the last people who saw Francis alive; President Trump’s Veep visited Francis on Holy Week for a sit down discussion with the ailing pope.
As a Catholic myself? I’ll try to avoid speaking ill of the dead (especially the vicar of Christ), but I’m going to echo Bishop Strickland’s sentiment and pray that the cardinals get it right this time and settle on a new leader who reaffirms what makes Christianity important and distinct in an increasingly secular and divided world, not lazily lean into elistist tropes and, in so doing, render the Church just another Leftist NGO. We need a John Paul III. Let’s see if we get one.
