- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
VATICAN CITY, April 21 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had recently survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.
“At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013, surprising many Church watchers who had seen the Argentine cleric, known for his concern for the poor, as an outsider.
He sought to project simplicity into the grand role and never took possession of the ornate papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors, saying he preferred to live in a community setting for his “psychological health”.
He inherited a Church that was under attack over a child sex abuse scandal and torn by infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy, and was elected with a clear mandate to restore order.
But as his papacy progressed, he faced fierce criticism from conservatives, who accused him of trashing cherished traditions. He also drew the ire of progressives, who felt he should have done much more to reshape the 2,000-year-old Church.
While he struggled with internal dissent, Francis became a global superstar, drawing huge crowds on his many foreign travels as he tirelessly promoted interfaith dialogue and peace, taking the side of the marginalised, such as migrants.
Unique in modern times, there were two men wearing white in the Vatican for much of Francis’ rule, with his predecessor Benedict opting to continue to live in the Holy See after his shock resignation in 2013 had opened the way for a new pontiff.
Benedict, a hero of the conservative cause, died in December 2022, finally leaving Francis alone on the papal stage.
Francis appointed nearly 80% of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope correct as of February 2025, increasing the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies, despite the strong pushback from traditionalists.
Yes, let us all abandon our principals and prostrate ourselves toward the most backwards elements of society. You say you are new to Marxism Leninism, perhaps it is time to learn what opportunism is.
I messed up in many ways. Please see the new and improved EDIT section of my original comment. I hope I have not burned all bridges with you hexbearites.
Please read carefully my original comment. I said almost the opposite of “prostrate”. I want to overthrow capitalism, which will then provide a more healthy environment for religion, like in Cuba. But we can’t overthrow capitalism when we (already fighting an uphill battle) antagonize half of the working class from the start.
I am saying: attack theocracy, yes. But don’t just lash out at all religion like New Atheists do.
Respectfully, from an ML perspective, religion and the occurrence of religion is simply the replacement for tribal solidarity as class society develops from primitive communism towards settled agriculture, which produces enough surplus to create an ownership class that does not produce anything, but rules through violence and justifies that violence through superstition. Religion is not ‘natural’ but a creation created to ease the contradictions of class society without challenging the ruling class. Due to this very nature, religion no matter how benign, cannot be the vehicle of class abolition as it is born out of class society itself.
I have no personal animosity towards the Pope (outside of his comments on gender) nor even most individual catholics, but I absolutely hold an animosity towards religion and religious based thinking. And I would argue, one has to hold this animosity if one wants to call themselves an ML.
This response is exxagerating and not actually engaging with what the comrade said. Please apologize to the comrade.