Pope Francis – A Spiritual Being Who Stood for Justice and Inclusion

Pope Francis died the day after Easter.

Over the years, while I didn't closely follow the succession of Popes who have come on and gone, I've been aware of the various leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis stood out as different. That difference caught my attention more than the other leaders who preceded him. 

While Pope Francis's predecessors focused on doctrinal purity, Francis sought to reset the course of the church by emphasizing inclusion and care for those he considered vulnerable. He pushed back against world leaders who demonized the marginalized for political gain.

Pope Francis took a stand for what he believed to be right even though his positions were unpopular with many influential people.

Early in his tenure, Pope Francis spoke to a joint meeting of Congress and indirectly to the American people. His message, among other things, was that the United States should use its power to heal the "open wounds" of a planet torn by conflict, greed, poverty, and pollution. The Pope implored us to "move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good."

Despite the controversial issues he addressed during his talk, the Pope's words struck a lofty note for unity.  

Ironically, shortly after the Pope finished speaking, his primary audience returned to business as usual - a cycle of paralysis and divisive politics. Most of the spectators ignored the Pope's message of caring for the common good. 

What struck me about the Pope's message was that he was clear on where he stood on the issues and challenges that we face in our world today. While I didn't necessarily agree with every position he took during his time as Pope, I appreciated the clarity of his intentions, perspectives, and where he stood. 

It got me thinking. What should a spiritual being and planetary citizen stand for in today’s world? I imagined such a person would say something like this:

“I believe that each of us is a unique, unrepeatable gift to our world." We are here to find our purpose and be those gifts to our friends, families, loved ones, businesses, communities, and the organizations we are part of.

“I stand for releasing the misguided belief that we are less than the great persons we are." We may have expressed less. We may have identified ourselves as being less. But we are never less than the great persons we were born to be. 

“I stand in believing we are here to make a difference.” We are here to express the qualities of the people we admire and who have contributed significantly to others, their organizations, and communities. If we can see those qualities in someone else, they must be in us.

“I stand in holding that we are to usher new ways of being in the world.” This intention includes better methods of leading, handling conflict, and meeting the challenges and crises in our lives and our world.

“I stand for creating a new definition of success.” Such a definition includes being of service to an idea bigger than ourselves. When we are of service to something bigger than ourselves, we get everything that we need.

If we follow the above principles, we will move toward healing those open wounds that the Pope referred to in his speech. We can't rely on the government alone to do it. The work begins with you and me. We must be instruments of the Spirit. If we aren't making this a way of life, we cannot look at the challenges and project them onto government officials and politicians. They follow the lead of the consciousness of the country. When enough people rise, see spiritually, and practice these ideas and ideals, the leaders will follow.

Peace and Blessing,

James