The Fortune Pope Francis Left Behind
Okey Iheduru
Cornelius Hamelberg
Gloria Emeagwali
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Susan Doofan Albert-Makyur
This is so profound.
The Pope lived simply,so that others can simply live.
His life was solely in service to God and humanity.
It is worthy of emulation by all of us(the church).
May his gentle soul rest in peace.
Susan.
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Cornelius Hamelberg
Apart from the expected hagiography, there are various other reports about the 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲 that Po𝗽𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀 𝗹eft behind after his death
If we are to take Okey Iheduru’s word as gospel then I’d say that in that respect Pope Francis is reminiscent of his brother South American Jose Mujica who earned the title ”The World’s Poorest President” and as far as poverty is concerned the dearly departed Pope is also reminiscent of another Black Saint of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, namely the Blessed St Martin de Porres
The extent to which the Pope’s lifestyle and legacy will impact or curb the conspicuous consumption of some of our African leaders, remains to be seen.
Pope Francis was a Jesuit and reputed to be the very first Pope ever to be coming directly from The Jesuit Order otherwise known as The Society of Jesus - sadly there are all kinds of critiques and conspiracy theories about the Jesuits , such as this one that popped up a few days ago : JESUITS: The Secret Order That Rules the World | Francis, the Final Pope and the Prophecy of Malachy
The other interesting angle that deserves some illumination is the relationship between Pope Francis and Liberation Theology in the Holy Roman Catholic Church
Cornelius Hamelberg
Re - “Impressive legacy but even if he had
a billion dollars in his account he
couldn’t take the money with him to happy land!
I am not sure that he dealt with
pedophilia in the church
Adequately.” ( Gloria Emeagwali)
Indeed, from the vale of tears to “happy land” or Orwell’s SugarCandy Mountain
Mention “Vatican” and in the world of imagination, what comes to mind are some of the indelible poetic impressions, all that skulduggery from Umberto Eco’s The Name Of The Rose - and the movie too: The Name of the Rose
BTW, I haven’t followed any of the funeral rites on TV , not his body lying in state, and not the actual funeral itself which was conducted on the Sabbath, perhaps thereby signalling a complete separation from Jesus original religion - bear in mind that according to the Gospels Jesus body was taken down from the cross for burial before the start of the Sabbath , as, verily, according to the Hebrew Faith the Sabbath is not a good day for funerals, even if the IDF is still bombing without any letup or compunction on the Sabbath, and most astounding of all Harold Pinter got married on Yom Kippur!
Consider some of the paradoxes of Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
BTW, it wouldn’t surprise me at all, if suddenly Pope Francis resurrected from his coffin and was seen walking somewhere on the streets of Rome.
Or if “ I dreamed I saw St Augustine “
Your insight into the money realities of the Papacy has to be qualified by this other outstanding feature of the Catholic Church, that the clergy, both male and female, have taken vows of celibacy and therefore, of course, do not get married. Marriage would have implied families, heirs, inheritances, and thus the enormous wealth of the Catholic Church would not have survived, all in one piece - instead, there’s the sorry - sorrowful and mundane repercussion ; sexual abuse scandals and pedophile priests
Eventually there will be some cogent analyses of Pope Francis’ relations with Liberation Theology which has had more of a footing in Latin America and - another paradox - it seems scarcely heard of in Africa where you would think it's needed as much as “the prosperity gospel” being preached by the Pentecostals
In that Toyin Falola Conversation with Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah , back then my impression was that the highly sensitized Bishop in response to the realities of the situation in Nigeria was very close to the position once held by Helder Dom Camara
Cornelius Hamelberg
Re -
“I am not sure that he dealt with
pedophilia in the church
Adequately.” (Gloria Emeagwali)
Bearing in mind the idea that it’s Jesus that is the head of the church, and not the Pope, the enormity of the problem of sexual abuse scandals and pedophile priests and the revealations published as “In the Closet of the Vatican” ought not to be underestimated.True, Rome was not built in a day, and it’s a problem that has been piling up over many decades, possibly over centuries and so much on Pope Francis plate , and the next pope’s plate, perhaps too much to be dealt with by less than draconian measures.
For example, there’s the case of the paedophile priest who told his victim that it was “an old Jewish ritual”
In my view, these are criminal offences that ought not to be left to the discretion of the church’s disciplinary committee, or lightly punished by merely transferring the paedophile priest to another parish..,.
How do you think the paedophilia in the church could or should be dealt with adequately?