Thank you Damon you see and sense the wonderful nature of that spirit who was the North Star of socioeconomic and environmental education in the treacherous and disturbing times. Your insights illuminate the feelings he inspired.
Thank you Damon. My own feelings mirror yours. I wascrsidef in the Catholic Church but left it as a young adult. However, I embraced the morals and ethics that I learned growing up. Francis was the first pope that spoke to me. He embodied the morals and ethics that provided the foundation for the life I have lived. It is why I embraced trade unionism. I hope the next pope continues on the path the Francis has opened. The world needs that vision and voice.
Interesting, Damon, but I know a variety of people who meet your four criteria and have done so for more than last 12 years. I wouldn’t come close to designating Francis a great person, although he may have been a better than average Pope. I look at the mess he left in Argentina, a country which the constantly traveling Pontiff never returned to. Not once. I look at his continuation of the Apostolic Visitation, begun by Benedict and designed to crush women religious in the U.S. I look at his failure to come to serious, effective terms with historic, current and future sexual abuse by clergy. I look at the opportunities Francis had to be transformative for the Church about priestly celibacy, the ordination of women, the full inclusion of queer Catholics in the life of the Church — including marriage and ordination. Twice Francis assembled the College of Cardinals (when those who were eligible to vote on these matters had been overwhelmingly named by Francis) and twice he issued anodyne statements which changed nothing. Twice. It’s nice that non Catholics found Francis admirable. Perhaps that memory will linger when the next Pope returns to Prada shoes, the Papal apartments, and hushing up the next massive sexual abuse scandal. But Francis’s mission was to guide the Catholic Church. And, while he was no doubt an improvement on Benedict, former head of the Inquisition, he accomplished little, apart from current geographical profile of the College of Cardinals. And that, too, can be reversed in the next year. In short, I can’t think of anything that Francis accomplished during his Papacy which will endure. And that is tragic, not admirable.
Hi Ellen! Who are the people you know who embody the four qualities Francis did that I wrote about-- (1) deep understanding of global political economy (2) focus on the poor and the marginalized in their daily life (3) commitment to the cause of working people (4) empathy for and appreciation of other people--all other people? After reading your comment I searched my mind and I could not think of a single person-- not just a single famous or powerful person, but a single person.
I'm not going to respond in substance to your critique of his failures in terms of reform of the Catholic Church. I'm not Catholic, I don't know as much as you do about the issues involved and I'm prepared to accept your criticisms as accurate and my piece stands as written. Were Francis here to participate in this discussion he might do so as well. You used the word " tragic." Greatness is a prerequisite for tragedy.
When the Obama Administration acquiesced in the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, I had a rather public argument with Larry Summers about it. I told him "we are not upset with you for losing this fight, we are upset with you for not fighting." You may disagree but I am not upset with Pope Francis for not fighting. Damon
Thank you Damon you see and sense the wonderful nature of that spirit who was the North Star of socioeconomic and environmental education in the treacherous and disturbing times. Your insights illuminate the feelings he inspired.
Thank you Damon. My own feelings mirror yours. I wascrsidef in the Catholic Church but left it as a young adult. However, I embraced the morals and ethics that I learned growing up. Francis was the first pope that spoke to me. He embodied the morals and ethics that provided the foundation for the life I have lived. It is why I embraced trade unionism. I hope the next pope continues on the path the Francis has opened. The world needs that vision and voice.
Interesting, Damon, but I know a variety of people who meet your four criteria and have done so for more than last 12 years. I wouldn’t come close to designating Francis a great person, although he may have been a better than average Pope. I look at the mess he left in Argentina, a country which the constantly traveling Pontiff never returned to. Not once. I look at his continuation of the Apostolic Visitation, begun by Benedict and designed to crush women religious in the U.S. I look at his failure to come to serious, effective terms with historic, current and future sexual abuse by clergy. I look at the opportunities Francis had to be transformative for the Church about priestly celibacy, the ordination of women, the full inclusion of queer Catholics in the life of the Church — including marriage and ordination. Twice Francis assembled the College of Cardinals (when those who were eligible to vote on these matters had been overwhelmingly named by Francis) and twice he issued anodyne statements which changed nothing. Twice. It’s nice that non Catholics found Francis admirable. Perhaps that memory will linger when the next Pope returns to Prada shoes, the Papal apartments, and hushing up the next massive sexual abuse scandal. But Francis’s mission was to guide the Catholic Church. And, while he was no doubt an improvement on Benedict, former head of the Inquisition, he accomplished little, apart from current geographical profile of the College of Cardinals. And that, too, can be reversed in the next year. In short, I can’t think of anything that Francis accomplished during his Papacy which will endure. And that is tragic, not admirable.
Hi Ellen! Who are the people you know who embody the four qualities Francis did that I wrote about-- (1) deep understanding of global political economy (2) focus on the poor and the marginalized in their daily life (3) commitment to the cause of working people (4) empathy for and appreciation of other people--all other people? After reading your comment I searched my mind and I could not think of a single person-- not just a single famous or powerful person, but a single person.
I'm not going to respond in substance to your critique of his failures in terms of reform of the Catholic Church. I'm not Catholic, I don't know as much as you do about the issues involved and I'm prepared to accept your criticisms as accurate and my piece stands as written. Were Francis here to participate in this discussion he might do so as well. You used the word " tragic." Greatness is a prerequisite for tragedy.
When the Obama Administration acquiesced in the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, I had a rather public argument with Larry Summers about it. I told him "we are not upset with you for losing this fight, we are upset with you for not fighting." You may disagree but I am not upset with Pope Francis for not fighting. Damon