The pope is dead: what did Francis stand for?
After Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, Europe's press looks back on his twelve-year pontificate. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis was known for his commitment to helping the poor and disadvantaged ever since his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. His election in 2013 prompted hopes of a fresh impetus for the Catholic Church as a global institution, as well as major reforms.
He restored the Church's moral authority
De Volkskrant pays tribute:
“Pope Francis was an important moral voice in a world in which people who do not belong to his own group are increasingly seen as enemies. ... Even under Francis, the Church ultimately remained a conservative institution with archaic views on women, homosexuality and other issues. Nevertheless, he restored a certain moral authority to the Church with his calls for peace and his unwavering support for the weak. In a world where humanity is all too often lacking, Francis was a valuable voice. Hopefully his successor will continue in this vein.”
The right path at the right time
The Kronen Zeitung hopes that Francis's path will continue:
“No, the Argentinian with Italian roots will not go down in history as a great reformer, but he did the right thing at the right time: he set an example of humility and modesty. He castigated the arrogance of the princes of the church. He read the riot act to self-absorbed egomaniacs in the Curia. Gave a voice to the socially weak and people on the margins of society. Listened attentively to the church base. This path that Francis has taken is the right one to give the Church relevance in the 21st century. We can only hope that his successor will continue along this path.”
Harsh words are not enough
Le Soir criticises the lack of adequate measures to combat sexual abuse:
“While he spoke out clearly against the sexual abuse of minors and women, revelations which left a big stain on his pontificate, condemning such acts and describing as crimes what had previously been dismissed and even absolved as 'sins', Pope Francis and his Church didn't do enough in the eyes of the victims and their lawyers. The Vatican, which still recognises only its own laws, has protected and sheltered abusers: priests and bishops who have been accused by deeply disappointed believers in numerous countries, and who are still waiting for redress from their Church.”
A divided legacy
For the Salzburger Nachrichten the Pope became entangled in contradictions:
“The image Francis leaves behind is an ambivalent one. He defied categorisation in the 'conservative - progressive' scheme. He opened the church to homosexuals but castigated abortion as a crime and murder. He appointed women to the highest Vatican administrative positions but put the brakes on the admission of women to ordained ministries. He pointed the way towards a decentralised, synodal church but harshly rebuked the Germans, who were particularly eager to follow the synodal path.”
Not the time for hypocrisy
Corriere della Sera doubts that Francis's message got through:
“If the Church is, as he called it, a field hospital, then Francis died on the field, in the spirit of service. ... He was generous to all, even at the expense of his own health. ... When he was sure that he did not have much time left, he wrote - in the texts of the Easter Triduum - the most profound and moving words that a humanity wounded by wars could hear. Today, in the pain of his passing, they will probably be heard by everyone, at least formally. To what extent they will be understood or shared is unclear, given the hypocrisy in some of the obituaries. 'Our wounded coexistence, O Lord, in this broken world, needs sincere tears, not casual ones', he wrote prophetically.”
Leaving behind a troubled world
Pope Francis was more progressive than the hardliners wanted and more traditional than the liberals had hoped, Večer explains:
“At the beginning of his pontificate he was seen as a compromise, but one that would protect tradition. ... The 'Pope from the End of the world' revolutionised, but overall less than had been predicted. He died with the conviction that evil would never triumph over good. And yet even the head of the world's largest religious community and oldest diplomacy was unable to end a single war. It has been a long time since a pope left behind such a troubled world. It has been a long time since life has been so unsacred, so little respected, and since the powerlessness in the face of the gods of war has been so devastating.”