Pope Francis's funeral in Rome
Pope Francis was laid to rest in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore outside the Vatican after a funeral service in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday. The ceremony was attended by leading political figures from across the globe as well as an estimated 400,000 people. Commentators share emotions and observations - also with regard to Francis's successor.
Empty pews - but selfies galore
The mass gathering has little to do with faith, Corriere del Ticino underlines:
“If all the faithful who have flocked to Rome and the Vatican City in recent days to pay their respects to Pope Francis were to visit the churches of the Christian West, the pews would not be so empty and the crisis of faith would not be so pronounced. ... In the days leading up to his final farewell, amidst all the emotions, prayer and thanksgiving to a humanly extraordinary pontiff, there was no lack of irreverent and macabre voyeurism in the form of selfies with the corpse. This is the way of the world, but certainly not the kind of world that Pope Francis fought for until his last breath.”
Society no longer wants saints
Konstantinos Tsilis, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Singapore and South Asia, comments in Huffpost Greece:
“The thousands who gathered to say their final farewells were not what one would expect. ... The problem lies in our hearts and in the choices we make in life. I noticed that many in the crowd were holding signs that read 'Thank you, Francis'. On similar occasions, such as the funeral of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square, everyone chanted 'Saint'. Let's admit that times have changed. Today's society no longer want role models or saints, but someone who soothes and absolves them of their imperfections and guilt!”
Unease over who will succeed him
We feel Francis's legacy even more clearly at the moment of his farewell, writes Jornal de Notícias:
“It is quite natural to be touched by the death of a man who managed to be both revolutionary and consensual and who became the most ubiquitous figure of the last decade. That seems to be the explanation for the overwhelming identification with Francis. This is the legacy of coherence. He has opened the doors of the Church for all. From the divorced to homosexuals, from the poor to victims of abuse, from migrants to war martyrs. This consistency with the message of Christ justifies the feeling of unease at this moment of farewell. Who will succeed him? ... May it be someone who has the same serenity as Jorge.”
Two camps that are drifting apart
The challenge in Rome now is to preserve the unity between the Church's conservatives and liberals, remarks The Spectator:
“It cannot, however, be ignored that he leaves behind a Church divided. Two camps have firmly stationed themselves within the Catholic Church, with the chasm between them only growing. ... It is unclear which direction the cardinals will take, yet their task is not merely to elect a successor, but to choose a shepherd capable of bringing together a fractured flock. Much will be said about how the secular world views the next pope, but his greatest challenge won't be perception: it will be to unite his people before the fractures become irreparable.”