Remembering Pope Francis: the conscience for the world

As I write, it is the first anniversary of the passing on of our beloved Pope Francis. On April 21, 2025, Easter Monday, our deeply loving and courageous Holy Father completed his deeply inspiring mission “For the Greater Glory of God” (the motto of his Jesuit order), for the people of God – especially the vulnerable and poor, and for our earth-home.

In a world that so often turns its back on those most in need, Pope Francis instead consistently exemplified Jesus’ call to us to be his light in the darkness: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. … Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” That is exactly how Pope Francis lived!

He often made efforts to prick, and ever rattle our consciences to pay serious attention to our suffering brothers and sisters, and to our battered earth-home; focusing beams of Christ’s light on those who are on the periphery – like so many vulnerable children, migrants, the homeless, the war-torn, the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly, and the unborn.

Pope Francis was consistent in his prophetic teaching on the protection of all life from conception to natural death. Starting with the earliest stages of life Pope Francis firmly declared, “Abortion is more than an issue. Abortion is murder.” Each unborn baby is “a human life, period. … Is it right, is it fair, to kill a human life to solve a problem?”

Always proclaiming peace and condemning war he challenged each of us to realize that “War is the suicide of humanity because it kills the heart and kills love.” That “Wars are always madness: all is lost in war, all is gained in peace.”

In his historic address to the U.S. Congress Pope Francis‘ boldly said “Why would anyone give weapons to people who use them for war? . . . The answer is money, and the money is drenched in blood”.

Regarding his teaching on migrants, Pope Francis said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”
And on the environment, Pope Francis’ prophetic encyclical letter “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home” speaks volumes.

Pope Francis once poignantly asked, “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”
When it became clear during the papal conclave that he would be the next pope, the archbishop from Argentina thought, “the poor, the poor.” Then he said, “Thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were being counted.” And he thought that “St. Francis is also the man of peace.” “That is how the name came into my heart.”

And our dear Holy Father added, “For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” and added that St. Francis was “the poor man who wanted a poor church.” Within that same spirit, Pope Francis beautifully said, “How I would love a church that is poor and for the poor.”
The guiding light of the Risen Christ continues to shine brightly through Pope Francis, even now after one year since his passing on. His tireless teachings and examples of selfless loving service toward all – especially for the poor, vulnerable and our earth-home – will live on continuing to do much good if we allow ourselves to actively live the Gospel he embodied – as Pope Leo XIV is doing!

Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at [email protected].