ArcaMax

Many notes of reflection on the passing of the pope. This from my friend F in Wisconsin:

“When he was a teenager, he loved to play basketball. Then, in his 20s, he had life-threatening pneumonia and part of a lung was removed. No more basketball for that young man! He became a priest after being inspired by a priest. John Paul II made him a cardinal and then, years later, habemus papum! We have a pope, and he chose the name Francis because he was concerned with the well-being of the poor. The weight of the world wore him down. The passage of time put him in a wheelchair. Did he think about basketball anymore? I don’t know. Probably not. But today, if he wants to, he can run tirelessly from one end of the court to the other and sink swish after swish. There's nothing but net in heaven.”

I join all my dear Catholic readers in mourning the death of their pope. May his soul be gathered among the holy and righteous in Heaven.

In this time of reflection and mourning, several fundamental truths must not be lost.

Ranking the achievements of a pope like we rank the records of sports figures is foolish. Leading the Catholic Church’s 1.3 billion members and vast bureaucracy is unquestionably the most complex and challenging job here on planet earth. I believe Francis tried his best to balance the competing interests of conservatives and liberals, socialists and capitalists, advanced and developing nations and above all for him, balancing the urgent needs of the poor with the spiritually suffocating blessings of the rich.

As for me, there were moments in his pontificate that inspired me.

I loved his modesty and simplicity. Living in a modest apartment, busing his own dishes in the dining room, and driving a Fiat rather than a grand limousine were all marks of a man who was clearly aware of the humility that was the perfect adornment of his great office.

I loved that he was the first Jesuit pope. The Jesuits are my favorite Catholic order. They are the most open to interfaith dialogue. They are the most open to absorbing what science is learning about the world. He once said, “All paths lead to God.” I don’t think he really meant that but he meant it when he said it and that was enough for me.

I loved that he tried to push the theological envelope about the sanctity of same-sex relations. He famously said, “Who am I to judge?” I also don’t think he really meant that either but it was another example of his humanity pushing hard against his inherited theological traditions.

At times he seemed to be on the verge of approving the appointment of women as deacons in the Church. The diaconate is just one small step away from the priesthood and perhaps he paved the way for that historic breakthrough in the next pontificate.

There were, I must admit in truth, moments that left me confused and even saddened in his remarks about the world. A bad call on who was responsible for the Ukraine war; a call to investigate Israel for genocide; some administrative lapses that left bad priests in the priesthood; the support for Evita Peron. These and other remarks made me realize that a pope is not a pundit and that it is only when he is speaking ex cathedra from his chair as head of the Church that he is infallible. Off his throne, Francis was occasionally very, very fallible.

But in the end I use his words to sum up, “Who am I to judge?” I think Francis did his very best to clean up and inspire, to witness and to serve, to pray and to laugh. His humanity in all its noble and fallible forms was for me his greatest legacy.

May he rest in peace.

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

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