A month after the passing of Pope Francis, a Filipino cardinal reflected on how the late Holy Father made surprising decisions throughout his pontificate, mainly in building a Synodal Church.
In a Facebook post, Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David pointed out how Pope Francis changed the papacy forever by imagining a Church that “walks together, listens deeply, [and] discerns prayerfully.”
“He asked us to dream—not of power, but of participation. He envisioned a Church with an Amazonian face, an Asian soul, and a youthful spirit. A Church that does not fear messiness, for the Spirit dwells in the unpredictable,” wrote the cardinal.
The cardinal said that Francis walked the talk by reaching out to Christians “of every stripe” and offered a fraternal hand to people of other faiths, especially Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists.
“He believed in bridges, not walls. He saw creation not as [a] commodity but as a common home,” he said.
He also remembered how Francis placed a particular focus on taking care of the common home and the mercy of God that transcends earthly boundaries.
The cardinal even highlighted the radical changes the pontiff made during his papacy, such as living at Casa Santa Marta instead of the Apostolic Palace and shrugging off “papal pomp and vestments of triumph.”
“He embraced refugees, washed the feet of prisoners, blessed the disfigured, smiled at street children. He said Mass for garbage collectors and mourned the forgotten dead,” the cardinal further wrote.
David also recalled in his post how he first heard the news of the pope’s passing through a call from Irish journalist Gerry O’Connell.
“He made me weep like a son weeps for a father. Because somehow, in the depth of his gaze, in the tenderness of his voice, in the gravity of his silences—I had felt fathered,” shared the cardinal.
He said that he will remember Francis as a father who went “against the tides of resistance and cynicism” to remind the faithful they are saved by God’s grace and called to tenderness and mission.
“Buona sera, Papa Francesco. We bless you now, as you once asked us to bless you. And we will remain, walking forward in the love of Christ, just as you taught us,” the cardinal wrote in closing.
David was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Francis in December 2024, his last consistory.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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