‘Who am I to judge?’ Pope Francis will be remembered for his response when asked about the LGBTQ+ community

Within hours of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, His Holiness, Pope Francis, passed from this life into the loving embrace of God. A bishop, priest, and man well known for his love and dedication to the marginalized of the world, he spoke the truth clearly to empires, powers, and dominions. 

Announcing Pope Francis’s death, Cardinal Kevin Farrell said, “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

Pope Francis will be remembered for saying, when asked about the lives and ministry of members of the LGBTQ+ community, “Who am I to judge?” Going even further, he acknowledged that the institutional Catholic Church owed an apology to the LGBTQ+ community, having fallen short of its mission to welcome and affirm all people.

LOVEboldly sends a special message of sorrow to our Catholic siblings. We join you in mourning the loss of such great a leader and pastor, and we acknowledge how Pope Francis opened the church wide for people and communities often left out of its decision-making. We also know that the death of a pope, particularly a pope associated with seismic changes, comes with the uncertainty of the Church’s direction and leadership moving forward.

Easter teaches us that death, darkness, and hate do not have the final word when God is involved. Resurrection light can break through each of these forces just as it did in the life and ministry of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) and radiate the love of God.

And so we pray: Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Francis. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen. 🔥