Pope Francis, despite health struggles, emphasized compassion and reform during his papacy. He advocated for marginalized communities and engaged with significant global issues like migration and climate change. His encyclical, Laudato Si, showcased his commitment to the climate emergency. Known for his unique outsider perspective and leadership style, he sought to modernize the Church and criticized clerical arrogance while promoting a church aligned with the suffering of humanity. His radical approach marked a distinct departure from traditional roles to address both spiritual and societal needs.
In one of his most arresting descriptions of the kind of church that he wished to create, he imagined it as a field hospital' concerned more with those who suffer than defending its own interests.
Condemnations of clerical arrogance were accompanied by an exhortation that the church should better engage with the messiness of human lives.
Laudato Si, his impassioned encyclical dedicated to the challenge of the climate emergency, was a moral and philosophical tour de force explicitly addressed to all people of good will.
As inward-looking nationalist movements dragged the west's political compass steadily rightwards, Francis became an increasingly essential counterweight on interconnected issues such as migration, global heating and the fate of the global south.
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