FINAL REFLECTION ON POPE FRANCIS

In this, my final reflection on Pope Francis, I wish to focus on unity. The very office of Pope is itself directed towards unity, as before his Ascension Jesus appointed Peter as the visible sign and source of unity for his flock. In 2013, Pope Francis, the 265th Successor of Peter, in his first full letter to the Church, “The Joy of the Gospel”, wrote powerfully about unity being greater than conflict:

“When conflict arises, some people simply look at it and go their way as if nothing happened…Others embrace it in such a way that they become its prisoners…But there is also a third way, and it is the best way to deal with conflict. It is the willingness to face conflict head on, to resolve it and to make it a link in the chain of a new process. “Blessed are the peacemakers!” (Mt 5:9)…but this can only be achieved by those great persons who are willing to go beyond the surface of the conflict and to see others in their deepest dignity.” He went on to note that Christ himself is the source of this hope for unity: “Peace is possible because the Lord has overcome the world and its constant conflict ‘by making peace through the blood of his cross’ (Col 1:20)” and that this peace must begin within the human heart: “the locus of this reconciliation of differences is within ourselves, in our own lives, ever threatened as they are by fragmentation and breakdown. If hearts are shattered in thousands of pieces, it is not easy to create authentic peace in society” (from paragraphs 227-229). He echoed this same sentiment in his final Encyclical Letter in 2024, Dilexit Nos: “It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters. Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart…Our hearts, united with the heart of Christ, are capable of working this social miracle.”

May each of us open our hearts to a deeper encounter with Christ who is our peace, that we may see more clearly the deepest dignity of every person – including those who disagree with us – that together we may continue to participate in this “social miracle”. To quote Pope Leo XIV in his inauguration homily: “Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”