Byron Blake | Pope Francis: An extraordinary human soul

Pope Francis died in Rome hours after the Roman Catholic Church in Rome admitted and apologised for burying the ‘black’ identity of Jesus for over 500 years. Was this the case of “Lord, my ears have heard, now let your Servant depart in Peace”? That we will never know. But among the things we know of Pope Francis are:

1. He facilitated the work and would have approved the declaration for the apology.

2. During his tenure, he appointed many Cardinals of colour so that the Conclave has a majority of non-European members.

The Conclave has selected American/Peruvian Cardinal Robert Prevost, as Pope Leo XIV. Prevost was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014 by Pope Francis and promoted to the Dicastery in 2023. Whether he will move Pope Francis’ legacy forward is to be seen. Whatever happens, three aspects of Pope Francis’ life and ministry are worthy of our attention, if not emulation.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR BIRTH DON’T DEFINE YOU

Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was the eldest of five children born in Flores on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. His parents migrated from Italy during the “reign” of Benito Mussolini. They were clearly not rich. His father was an accountant with the railway, and his mother was a housewife. He graduated as a chemical technician from University of Buenos Aires and then decided to join the priesthood as a member of the Jesuit persuasion. He became part of an emerging group of young radical priests in Latin America who concentrated their work among the poor.

He studied and worked hard. He was promoted to the level of Jesuit Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and became a prominent figure throughout the continent. Yet, he remained a simple pastor who was deeply loved by his diocese. He travelled extensively on the underground and by bus during his episcopal ministry. As the appointed Pope, he lived in an apartment and cooked his own supper. He remained true to his mantra:

“My people are poor, and I am one of them”.

If it is true that one test of a man’s character is “to walk with kings and not lose the common touch,” what do we say of him who “Is Pope, receives Kings, Queens, Presidents, and Prime Ministers but never forgot the poor, the marginalized, the imprisoned”.

Pope Francis has demonstrated that the circumstances of our birth do not determine the heights we can attain, and the heights we attain need not determine our humanity. That is within us to decide.

ENVIRONMENT DOESN’T DETERMINE HUMANITY

Pope Francis, of Italian heritage, grew up in Argentina during the World War II and the decades following. Argentina was one of the countries to which Nazis and Italians fled to avoid the consequences of their crimes.

Further, Argentina is one of the most anti-black countries. The black population in Argentina declined from 15 per cent of the total population in 1857 (Blacks and Mulatto), to less than 0.5 per cent at present (mainly mulattoes and immigrants from Cape Verde). Extermination was systematic. The situation in neighbouring Paraguay and Chile was not much better. His postgraduate studies were in Chile, Spain, and Germany, countries not known to have had many black people even in the 1990s. The following illustrates the absence of black people in his environs.

“One Sunday afternoon in 1975, I was walking along one of the major streets in Buenos Aires. There was little vehicular traffic, so you could see people strolling or just sitting on benches. I became conscious of someone staring at me from a bench on the other side. On my return journey, I deliberately walked on that side. As I approached, a dark-skinned young lady jumped from the bench where she was sitting with a white gentleman and moved towards me like I was a long-lost brother. She began to engage in discussions. It turned out that she was a Kenyan with her white French husband. He was a consultant with UNESCO in Santiago, Chile, where they had been living for six months. They were international diplomats who would have moved around the country, yet she had not seen a black person.

Despite his lack of familiarity with black people until he became Pope at age 76, Francis had no difficulty relating to them. He visited 10 African states during his 12-year Papacy. His interaction with the black leaders, clergy, men, women, boys and girls in Africa was in no way different from his interaction with their counterparts in other white countries. He was equally comfortable and at home.

This was a man who believed that all humans are created by God to be loved and not feared or despised.

THE CHURCH CANNOT BE SILENT

Pope Francis believed there are some existential challenges to the Earth and humanity. These include:

1. Nuclear proliferation.

2. Global economic inequalities arising from unequal access to resources, unfair taxation, and immiserising debt.

3. Climate change.

He considered these issues on which the Church cannot be silent. He led by taking public positions and proffering solutions to these and other highly controversial issues. Positions by the Papacy on global issues are important. The Holy See is a full member of the United Nations. Other denominations, in groups, participate in the UN as observers. Pope Francis had shown a willingness to work and find common cause with other denominations. This openness has created an opportunity to enhance the impact of the Church, as the Body of Christ. It should not be interred with Francis’ bones.

Pope Francis’ proposal for “2025 to be a Jubilee Year to include focus on the immiserating debt burden of poor nations”, and the urgency he brought to the climate change issue are of particular interest to the Caribbean. This is more so given the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Seville, Spain in July and the COP 30, to be held in Belem, Brazil, in November. These two issues are vital to the physical and economic survival of the Caribbean and other small island and low-lying coastal states.

Ambassador Byron Blake is former deputy permanent representative of Jamaica to the United Nations and former assistant secretary general of CARICOM. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com