“Who am I to judge?”
Right from the beginning of his Papacy, Pope Francis was inclusive, echoing what Jesus Christ did when faced with a woman who the crowd claimed was an adulterer. “Let anyone among you without sin to cast the first stone.” When the Pharisees and other religious leaders dropped their stones and left, Jesus asked the woman, “Has no one condemned you?” When she said no. He told her to go and sin no more.
Pope Francis was a champion for immigrants, and it’s ironic that one of the last people he met with is part of the U.S. policy to cruelly deport immigrants and place them in a gulag prison in El Salvador. Now, however, Francis is above us all, even a so-called king, and we know he won’t stop fighting for the marginalized.
He appointed many cardinals while he was pope. Our hope is someone will be chosen to continue what the stood for, speaking up for those whose voices are sometimes not heard.
Top photo: Pope Francis blesses pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
