INBOX INSPIRATIONS
April 23, 2025
Pope Francis – 1
1936-2025
May he rest in peace!
Dear Friends,
On Monday morning, April 21, we heard of the death of Pope Francis. May he rest in peace! Today I am interrupting my series of columns on Refugees to share some reflections on the Holy Father.
This Pope appealed to me and I liked him from the very beginning. I remember the day he was elected back in March 2013. As is traditional, Francis came out on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica to give his blessing. It is estimated that 150,000 people were gathered that evening in Saint Peter’s Square in expectation of seeing the new Pope. The thing that most impressed me here was that Francis first asked all those present to pray for him. He bowed his head and there was silence – imagine that, with that number of people present! The people prayed for our new Holy Father and only then did he pray over them and bestow his Apostolic Blessing.
To me, this moment spoke volumes. It showed a person, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church, to be a humble man, a man of the people. This action showed him as first and foremost a human being and a baptized person of faith standing in oneness with the flock he was called to lead, in need of prayer like anyone else.
This first impression of Francis soon got some confirmation in his choice of residence. Francis chose not to live in the Apostolic Palace which is a large building or complex to the right of Saint Peter’s Basilica. Among other things, the Palace contains some offices, gathering spaces, the Sistine Chapel, and the traditional residence for the Pope. It is a magnificent, historic building and is over five hundred years old. However, instead of living in the Apostolic Palace, Francis decided to live in a rather modest apartment in the Casa Santa Marta. This is a residential building in the Vatican, near Saint Peter’s, that was constructed in 1996. It contains 130 guest rooms and suites and was originally built for two reasons: to be a residence for clergy and others who were visiting the Vatican, and to be the residence for the Cardinals during a conclave. Pope Francis decided to live here in an apartment and to take his meals with others in a common dining room. This was his residence for his entire papacy.
To me, this again speaks of Francis’ desire for simplicity and for connection with the people of God. For me, this is one of the very inspiring traits of Francis and of his twelve-year pontificate.
I will continue these reflections in next week’s Inbox Inspirations.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
April 30, 2025
Pope Francis – 2
1936-2025
May he rest in peace!
Dear Friends,
This edition of Inbox Inspirations continues my reflections on Pope Francis and his legacy. You can access last week’s column through the link below.
Within the first six months of his papacy in 2013, Francis gave an interview to a prominent Italian journalist. This journalist was an avowed atheist. As I recall the report of this rather lengthy interview, it was an open and very respectful exchange. The journalist had his questions, some very pointed, about faith and Catholicism, and Francis offered very thoughtful responses. You could see a friendly rapport growing between these two men as the interview continued. In the end, as the journalist was leaving the Pope’s office, Francis simply said to him: “We will see each other doing good.” For me, that sentence was very significant.
It showed Francis being not just respectful, but also recognizing that this journalist, while not a believer, was a good person and could do good. If they did not meet in church, they would meet at least in “doing good,” each in their own way in today’s world. I find this to be a great legacy of Francis. We as a Church need to approach today’s world with this spirit. That is the way for us as people of faith to relate to one another and to those who have a different or no faith at all in this twenty-first century. It is the way for us to live the gospel especially today.
Francis called especially the ordained to a life of simplicity and to a ministry of service. He restricted and almost eliminated the conferral of the title Monsignor for priests. He seems to have done this because the honorary title has become a vestige of a past age and because he wanted us to find our fulfillment in service and not in honors. The Pope’s Ignatian background seemed to emerge here – beware of riches and honors because they lead to pride! The restriction of this title was, I believe, a wise, although not universally popular decision of Francis.
The above decision was part of this Holy Father’s discouragement of clericalism. Clericalism is a culture that has placed the ordained apart and above the rest of the faithful in the Church. Francis said: “Clericalism forgets that the visibility and sacramentality of the Church belong to all the people of God… “ Francis sought the active participation of all persons of faith in the life of the Church. Amen!
I will pick up on this point in next week’s Inbox Inspirations as I continue these reflections on Pope Francis.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
May 7, 2025
Pope Francis – 3
1936-2025
May he rest in peace!
Dear Friends,
This edition of Inbox Inspirations continues my reflections on Pope Francis and his legacy. You can access the columns of the last two weeks through the link below.
In speaking to the ordained, especially to priests and bishops, Pope Francis once talked about the role of a shepherd. He wrote in 2013: “The shepherd must smell like the sheep. This is what I am asking you — be shepherds with the smell of sheep… A shepherd sometimes has to walk ahead to lead the way, at other times walk in the middle to encourage them, and sometimes behind to make sure no one is left behind.”
This image has really stuck with me. Francis wanted me as a priest to realize that I am first and foremost a human being and a baptized person like anyone else. Then, with the conferral of Holy Orders, I and we priests are to be spiritual shepherds – never aloof from God’s people but walking with them. Sometimes we should walk ahead to provide vision and leadership. Sometimes we should walk along with everyone else to encourage and support and to receive that in return. And sometimes we must walk behind to make sure that all are staying together or to allow others to lead who have gifts and skills that we don’t have. This has been a guiding image for me in my priesthood. I greatly respect Francis for this.
Francis also allowed open conversation on some controversial issues within the Church. For example, at one point, he considered the ordination to the priesthood of married deacons in Brazil. There was discussion about the ordination of women to the diaconate. And there was debate about allowing in certain circumstances those divorced and remarried without an annulment to receive Communion. In the end, Pope Francis did not approve any of the above ideas. However, he allowed discussion and consideration of these issues. He knew that they were issues on the minds of some very good people of faith. He decided that we as a Church should at least talk about them – sharing what we think and listening to one another.
Allowing and engaging in conversation even on difficult, maybe controversial issues expresses trust in the presence of God and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is a healthy and holy thing and Francis realized this. He did this out of his respect for all persons.
I will conclude these reflections on Pope Francis in next week’s Inbox Inspirations.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
June 4, 2025
Pope Francis – 4
1936-2025
May he rest in peace!
Dear Friends,
[This edition of Inbox Inspirations was written as my last reflection on Pope Francis and was scheduled for the May 14 issue. I interrupted that series so as to focus on Pope Leo. Therefore, this column belatedly concludes the series on Pope Francis. You can access the columns of April 23 and 30 and May 7 through the link below.]
Pope Francis was a man of compassion. He repeatedly expressed and lived out his care for those on the margins or, as he often said, those on the peripheries.
He did this when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. As Pope, he saw to the Vatican’s provision of food and assistance especially for the homeless in Rome. He spoke out on behalf of the impoverished around the world. He realized that those with same-sex attraction and members of the LGBTQ community had also been pushed to the margins or peripheries.
Francis was a remarkable man – a person of great strength, willing to be open and to care, assured of himself, assured of the gospel, assured of the Lord’s presence even when some were quite critical of his way.
Francis’ compassion and care for others was very clear in his advocacy for the many refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants and migrants in our world. Once again, he remained steady in his conviction that Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 apply to us today: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” At one point, Francis started with the words of Jesus: “‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!’ (Mt 14:27). It is not just about migrants: it is also about our fears…. But the problem is not that we have doubts and fears. The problem is when they condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even – without realizing it – racist. In this way, fear deprives us of the desire and the ability to encounter the other, the person different from myself; it deprives me of an opportunity to encounter the Lord.”
I conclude with this. Francis was a prophet-Pope. By prophet, I do not mean that he foretold the future. Instead, he was in the line of some of the Old Testament prophets: looking at the present and calling us to care for the needy and stranger in our midst. He did this even when it made some of us feel uncomfortable. He remained faithful to God and faithful to humanity. I thank God for Francis. He has made a difference in my life and has brought hope to many who need it. May he rest in peace! Amen.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
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