Local Catholics share thoughts on passing of Pope Francis

Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, passed away on Easter Monday, at the age of 88.  

Pope Francis (Unsplash)

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, at age 76. He was the oldest pope to be elected since Clement XII in 1730, and the first pope who came from the Americas. He was the first pope to take on the name Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, who was known for his commitment to the poor and to the environment. Pope Francis became known as an advocate for social justice, economic equality and environmental fairness.

During his papal reign, Pope Francis worked to improve relations between the Catholic Church and other religions. He was known for going against religious norms to make everyone feel included in the church. The underlying theme in his service to the Catholic Church was one of mercy.   

Pope Francis was seen by some as progressive and others as too liberal for his stances on gay rights, same sex marriages, immigration and other controversial issues. 

Whether or not Catholics agreed with Pope Francis' stand on every subject, they all mourn the loss of their world-wide leader.

"His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and the Church," said Deacon Dan Vaughn, Pastoral Associate and Parish Administrator at Our Lady of the Ozarks Catholic Church, Forsyth. "His gestures, his words, his actions were good reminders to live out the gospels—embracing the sick, visiting prisoners, preaching the sanctity of all human life. 'There is no human life that is more sacred than another and no human life qualitatively more significant than another.' And, also, his famous quote, 'Who am I to judge?' A good reminder that we often fall into the trap of quickly judging others."  

Deacon Vaughn continued, "God's mercy was a constant theme in Pope Francis' preaching and was so central to his vision of what the church's ministry must embody that he proclaimed in 2015 an extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy for 2016. I mention this proclamation because it resonated with me and my diaconal ministry."

Father J. Friedel, Pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, Branson, shared thoughts. "I think for every Catholic, the passing of the Pope is a sad moment, because it means that our Shepherd is suddenly going to heaven. The fact that he got to go to heaven on Easter is phenomenal—that he's having the best Easter he ever had in his entire life. Being the Pope is a tough job because you're trying to do right by everybody in the whole world—not just the Catholics in the United States, but all the Catholics in the whole world. So, no matter what he does, he's usually wrong. But, he's also our Shepherd, and we believe that the Holy Spirit guided the Cardinals to elect him. So, when he was elected, he started trying to push the church to be more merciful, to make more room for everybody. And, that sometimes made him unpopular because he sometimes pushed things that other people thought should be left alone. And, his idea was 'I've got to make the church more merciful. I've got to make the church more loving. How do we become more like Jesus?’"

Area members of the Catholic faith shared their thoughts on Pope Francis’ legacy.

"The Netflix docudrama, 'Two Popes' is a good movie to get an idea of the inner workings of how a pope is selected by the Cardinals," noted Kay Gerken, a well-respected Branson realtor and member of Our Lady of the Ozarks Catholic Church. I believe the legacy and impact of Pope Francis can be summed up in one word: Mercy. He continually encouraged Catholics to be thankful for God's forgiveness and mercy through His Son, Jesus Christ. By doing so, we can seek forgiveness and show mercy to our loved ones and others for what we have done, and what we have failed to do."

Said entertainer Allen Edwards, "The Pope was a man of the people who loved the poor and loved simplicity. His liberal views, though, were polarizing and controversial to many of the Church's laity. I would like to see the next Pope to be more conservative and hold strong to the teachings of Christ."

"'I don't care about anyone's opinion; he was the leader of my church, and I'm in mourning," said Sherry Schumacher. "He drew me back in after 35 years of being 'in the world.' I've never felt that much love and joy when I first returned. Nobody pointing and laughing because they all knew my past. No, they showed me the love of Jesus. Just as we've all been told to do in the Commandments. I'm eternally grateful for Pope Francis, and I pray for God's guidance on his successor."

Regarding the next Pope to be elected, Father J. said, "I'll have to figure out what some of the things are in his heart. He's going to be the one who is the pope and it's going to be his privilege to shepherd us all around the world. A pope is really someone who is supposed to hold the deposit of faith. It is his job to guard that deposit of faith and to keep moving us forward, together, universally, across the world. He's going to be the one I pray for every day, and he's going to be the one I follow, along with my own bishop, as we move forward in faith. Whoever is elected will be the pope, and we'll give him the same respect that we gave Pope Francis, and the pope before him and the one before him, going all the way back to St. Peter."

Deacon Vaughn added, "As we pray that the Holy Spirit blesses us with another holy and humble leader of His Church, may our tears of sadness for Pope Francis' death be surpassed with tears of joy for the gift of eternal life."