I’m so grateful that he is still with us, that his ministry will continue among us for as long as God wills. This quotation is from the text he published for what would have been yesterday’s “Wednesday General Audience.” Though he is not yet ready to resume public appearances, he continues to exhort us, console us, and stir up hope within us.
Pope Francis—with his pastoral style, his extraordinary gestures, and his fidelity to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom in guiding the continuing reform of the Church—has indeed become another of the “Great Popes” of our time. He stands with Benedict XVI, Saint John Paul II, Blessed John Paul I, Saint Paul VI, and Saint John XXIII as vivid witnesses to the Gospel, each in his own distinctive way. Certainly, each of them can be “criticized” for “this and that,” for particular moments in which they fell short (although rare is the true and faithful “critic,” who has the requisite scope of knowledge, humility, and wisdom to set forth constructive and collaborative insights in this regard, with the appropriate discretion, for the good of the Church and the world). In contrast to their unsurprising human inadequacies, look at the miracle of their diverse-but-unified shining witness to the truth and love of Jesus Christ! The Popes of my lifetime have been a common beacon of light in this world of darkness, anxiety, suspicion, confusion, and falsehood—this world of unprecedented human power that seems to make us dizzy, reckless, and violent when it should be directed to serve the dignity of the image of God in every human person.
