Good people are good people regardless of their religion. The same with bad people, with or without religion motivating them. Compared to the previous Pope, Francis was in a different league with his visible humanity. Religion or belief on their own are poor indicators of goodness, compassion or humility.
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Andrew. I agree with you on every front, but it was certainly refreshing to see a figurehead whose goodness shone out. Goodness is hard to define, but something you can generally recognise when you see it. Here's hoping to a bit more of it on the national stage...
Blimey, you’re so right Christina. Labour should be showing courageous, humane leadership, instead of aping the small-minded Faragist right. The accelerating march of US authoritarianism should be a real wake up call. A BBC reporter yesterday talked about Trump trying to deliver his vision (!!). We’ve fallen a long way from what passes for normal, decent behaviour, with the UK news media dividing into populist cheerleaders or vanilla flavored apologists. Goodness needs to make a stand.
Thank you for sharing this experience, Christina. As others have already said, it is a reality that is both heartbreaking and uplifting … as is always the case when abject cruelty and the resulting despair exist alongside deep compassion and acceptance. As always, the way you tell the story fully engages my mind and heart, stirring up not only emotions but also thoughts that require further exploration.
Like you, I am no fan of any organized religion, and yet … there are always anomalous individuals who manage to wrestle some goodness - even great goodness - from the tangled knot of power and falsely righteous piety. Those stories surprise me in the best way.
Thank you, dear Jamie. It's hard to process the contrasts, isn't it? It's discombobulating, in fact. I love the way you put it: wrestling goodness from the tangled knot of power is exactly right. Power, and its corrupting influence, seems to be a huge part of the problem. But without power it's hard to make significant changes. As you know, my heart goes out to you for the situation you and your sane compatriots find yourself in. It could happen to any of us: that we end up living under a regime that's totally opposed to all our values. I felt something similar in the Boris Johnson years here and will feel pretty desperate if Nigel Farage ever becomes prime minister. (Which, after today's local elections is not impossible at all.)
As always, I'm really touched by your kind words and your eloquence. Thank you so much.xx
I love this. The work of those nuns quietly getting on with the business of loving like Jesus. Fearless because they don't cling to wealth success or their very lives. I was brought up with nuns in my primary school. They were amazing women and I really wanted to be like them. Pope Francis was an extraordinary man who upturned the mores of Vatican protocol. A little too much for some people. I joined an independent church 5 years ago. I still cling to Jesus. He is my anchor in life's storms. I joined a church which loves Jesus and loves life. We celebrate joyously and loudly.
So many young people are joining us. All their preconceptions are being redrawn and they are experiencing authentic faith. They have their own struggles. Addiction, children with problems. Marriages on the edge. Homelessness. All are welcomed and loved. Thank you for your post. It's so full of hope.There are bad things happening in this world but there I'd also so much good. God bless you x
Thank you for your beautiful response, Donna. I love the way you put it: "fearless because they don't cling to wealth, success or their very lives". There's something incredibly inspiring about that courage and that feeling of not being beholden to anyone. And we could certainly do with more hope. Thank you for yours.
What a wonderful comment. What the world needs now is more people like you, Donna.
I'm not Catholic, but it does not inhibit my admiration for these nuns: generous, brave women who modestly devote their lives to benefit others.
I attempted to find out exactly what Pope Francis said to Vance at the last meeting; what the Vatican did release is a bit vague but world politics and trump were mentioned in the P.R. and the meeting did last for several minutes. Pope Francis was a beacon of hope for the world, and never one to pull punches. Hopefully what he did say to Vance made a dent.
It must have been exhausting for Pope Francis to sit down and converse with such an ignorant and intolerant man.
Thanks for writing this article, Christina, it is fabulous.
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful words, Cheryl. I don't think we'll ever know exactly what the Pope said to Vance, but every statement he issued before and after was about the need for compassion, to welcome immigrants, to support the vulnerable etc. And previously there was an active rebuke to one of Vance's interpretations of Catholic doctrine. I harbour the hope that some of what he said has stirred some feelings of deep unease in whatever is left of his soul...
Thank you so much, Amy. Yes, it's really heart-breaking and hard to see how many of them will escape from the terrible situation they're in. But thank goodness for pockets of goodness. We certainly need more of those...
A powerful account, movingly told. Thank you. It is so good to hear of genuine Christian actions, not the vicious and distorted form represented by Vance and those like him. (To answer your questions- yes, no.
Thank you for your kind words, John. My response would also be: yes and no. What we're seeing in the US is so horrific it felt important to point out some of the good stuff...
Great piece Christina. Thanks for charing this experience. I can only imagine how interesting an rewarding it must have been in many ways. About your question of the last weeks with pope Francis passing away, I made some thoughts:
Reading an interview with a nun who said she choosed this path of life to get more out of life than marriage and children. She wanted to work like the nuns you wrote about in Sicily. She wanted to speak different languages, meet interesting people, bring good to people etcetera. It was not, as you might think, the choice of God, that was her only and prime driver. I found that interesting.
Another reflection is how we now learn more (or maybe I missed this before) about Pope Francis way of working. Like the department of communications in the Vatican wishes for a pope that has less of his own agenda. Not to go to work every day wondering what news they had to handle today.
I think that says quite a lot about who Pope Francis was. We all like rebells in a way but working with them are not always easy.
I have good hope for the new pope Leo XIV/Robert Prevost. I am not a catholic either but the pope has an important position as a world leader and the whole Vatican business is fascinating.
The movie Conclave was fascinating too.
I was a bit surprised the real conclave went so fast this time since most of the cardinals didn’t know each other and many of them didn’t even spreak mutural languages. It would be interesting to know more about ”the scene” of 2025 Conclave.
What a fascinating response, Eva, thank you! I remember a French teacher at school telling us about some nuns she knew who worked in Latin America and what a fascinating life they had. I've had almost nothing to do with the Catholic Church (until that trip to Sicily) and, as we all know, there's masses wrong with it (and with most religious institutions) but there are some people leading lives of extraordinary service.
Very interesting what you say about the comms people not wanting a Pope with his own agenda. The new one sounds intriguing and relatively low key, but we'll have to see. I can't help feeling delighted that he's American and a former Republican voter because that means that anything he says against the current administration, however veiled or nuanced, is likely to hit harder.
I thought Conclave was fascinating, too. Like you, I would love to know more about what happened behind the scenes "in real life" this time.
I hope the weather has perked up for you. Amazingly, we have glorious sunshine in London at the moment!
A very strong post, thank you. It is enlightening to read about these poor migrants and the assistance being given to them . It is such a cruel world out there.
As a p.s. I will only add that I too am not a Catholic but Trump’s photo of himself as ‘the next Pope’ was not just offensive and hurtful to Catholics, as many in the media agreed - it was more, an affront to decency.
On a lighter note, we had very pleasant young man as a patient some years ago. He was on leave from the Vatican, where he was training to be a priest
We had a number of fairly deep but light-hearted chats. He was in no doubt about my atheism and I had no doubts about his faith and commitment.
As he was leaving I joked that if, when my time came, I were to suddenly realise I had been wrong, would it be too late for me? He turned with a smile, made the sign, and said, 'Ego tu absolvo.'
As he headed again for the door I said my thanks and that I hoped I didn't need it.
He turned again and with a bigger smile said, 'Don't worry, I'm not qualified yet, so it's not valid'.
These nuns fill me with admiration for the way they walk the walk. Theirs is a model of Christianity I can respect and get behind, even though I don’t believe in a deity at all and most organised religion appalls me. I don’t suppose you know if it’s possible to support their work financially? Thanks so much for writing about them
Good people are good people regardless of their religion. The same with bad people, with or without religion motivating them. Compared to the previous Pope, Francis was in a different league with his visible humanity. Religion or belief on their own are poor indicators of goodness, compassion or humility.
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Andrew. I agree with you on every front, but it was certainly refreshing to see a figurehead whose goodness shone out. Goodness is hard to define, but something you can generally recognise when you see it. Here's hoping to a bit more of it on the national stage...
Blimey, you’re so right Christina. Labour should be showing courageous, humane leadership, instead of aping the small-minded Faragist right. The accelerating march of US authoritarianism should be a real wake up call. A BBC reporter yesterday talked about Trump trying to deliver his vision (!!). We’ve fallen a long way from what passes for normal, decent behaviour, with the UK news media dividing into populist cheerleaders or vanilla flavored apologists. Goodness needs to make a stand.
Thank you for sharing this experience, Christina. As others have already said, it is a reality that is both heartbreaking and uplifting … as is always the case when abject cruelty and the resulting despair exist alongside deep compassion and acceptance. As always, the way you tell the story fully engages my mind and heart, stirring up not only emotions but also thoughts that require further exploration.
Like you, I am no fan of any organized religion, and yet … there are always anomalous individuals who manage to wrestle some goodness - even great goodness - from the tangled knot of power and falsely righteous piety. Those stories surprise me in the best way.
Again, thanks for sharing. 💜
Thank you, dear Jamie. It's hard to process the contrasts, isn't it? It's discombobulating, in fact. I love the way you put it: wrestling goodness from the tangled knot of power is exactly right. Power, and its corrupting influence, seems to be a huge part of the problem. But without power it's hard to make significant changes. As you know, my heart goes out to you for the situation you and your sane compatriots find yourself in. It could happen to any of us: that we end up living under a regime that's totally opposed to all our values. I felt something similar in the Boris Johnson years here and will feel pretty desperate if Nigel Farage ever becomes prime minister. (Which, after today's local elections is not impossible at all.)
As always, I'm really touched by your kind words and your eloquence. Thank you so much.xx
Thank you Jamie - you express exactly my reaction and feeling when reading Christina’s post. Very well expressed.
Yes, beautifully expressed. And your comments always are too, Eva!
I love this. The work of those nuns quietly getting on with the business of loving like Jesus. Fearless because they don't cling to wealth success or their very lives. I was brought up with nuns in my primary school. They were amazing women and I really wanted to be like them. Pope Francis was an extraordinary man who upturned the mores of Vatican protocol. A little too much for some people. I joined an independent church 5 years ago. I still cling to Jesus. He is my anchor in life's storms. I joined a church which loves Jesus and loves life. We celebrate joyously and loudly.
So many young people are joining us. All their preconceptions are being redrawn and they are experiencing authentic faith. They have their own struggles. Addiction, children with problems. Marriages on the edge. Homelessness. All are welcomed and loved. Thank you for your post. It's so full of hope.There are bad things happening in this world but there I'd also so much good. God bless you x
Thank you for your beautiful response, Donna. I love the way you put it: "fearless because they don't cling to wealth, success or their very lives". There's something incredibly inspiring about that courage and that feeling of not being beholden to anyone. And we could certainly do with more hope. Thank you for yours.
What a wonderful comment. What the world needs now is more people like you, Donna.
I'm not Catholic, but it does not inhibit my admiration for these nuns: generous, brave women who modestly devote their lives to benefit others.
I attempted to find out exactly what Pope Francis said to Vance at the last meeting; what the Vatican did release is a bit vague but world politics and trump were mentioned in the P.R. and the meeting did last for several minutes. Pope Francis was a beacon of hope for the world, and never one to pull punches. Hopefully what he did say to Vance made a dent.
It must have been exhausting for Pope Francis to sit down and converse with such an ignorant and intolerant man.
Thanks for writing this article, Christina, it is fabulous.
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful words, Cheryl. I don't think we'll ever know exactly what the Pope said to Vance, but every statement he issued before and after was about the need for compassion, to welcome immigrants, to support the vulnerable etc. And previously there was an active rebuke to one of Vance's interpretations of Catholic doctrine. I harbour the hope that some of what he said has stirred some feelings of deep unease in whatever is left of his soul...
What a great piece. I learnt so much and my heart is now breaking for these girls
Thank you so much, Amy. Yes, it's really heart-breaking and hard to see how many of them will escape from the terrible situation they're in. But thank goodness for pockets of goodness. We certainly need more of those...
This was a fascinating piece, Christina. Thank you for sharing these women's stories.
Thank you so much, Clarice. I really appreciate your kind words.
A powerful account, movingly told. Thank you. It is so good to hear of genuine Christian actions, not the vicious and distorted form represented by Vance and those like him. (To answer your questions- yes, no.
Thank you for your kind words, John. My response would also be: yes and no. What we're seeing in the US is so horrific it felt important to point out some of the good stuff...
As always I really enjoyed reading this. Above all I think the pope was a "good" man.
Thank you very much, Donal. I think he was, too.
Great piece Christina. Thanks for charing this experience. I can only imagine how interesting an rewarding it must have been in many ways. About your question of the last weeks with pope Francis passing away, I made some thoughts:
Reading an interview with a nun who said she choosed this path of life to get more out of life than marriage and children. She wanted to work like the nuns you wrote about in Sicily. She wanted to speak different languages, meet interesting people, bring good to people etcetera. It was not, as you might think, the choice of God, that was her only and prime driver. I found that interesting.
Another reflection is how we now learn more (or maybe I missed this before) about Pope Francis way of working. Like the department of communications in the Vatican wishes for a pope that has less of his own agenda. Not to go to work every day wondering what news they had to handle today.
I think that says quite a lot about who Pope Francis was. We all like rebells in a way but working with them are not always easy.
I have good hope for the new pope Leo XIV/Robert Prevost. I am not a catholic either but the pope has an important position as a world leader and the whole Vatican business is fascinating.
The movie Conclave was fascinating too.
I was a bit surprised the real conclave went so fast this time since most of the cardinals didn’t know each other and many of them didn’t even spreak mutural languages. It would be interesting to know more about ”the scene” of 2025 Conclave.
What a fascinating response, Eva, thank you! I remember a French teacher at school telling us about some nuns she knew who worked in Latin America and what a fascinating life they had. I've had almost nothing to do with the Catholic Church (until that trip to Sicily) and, as we all know, there's masses wrong with it (and with most religious institutions) but there are some people leading lives of extraordinary service.
Very interesting what you say about the comms people not wanting a Pope with his own agenda. The new one sounds intriguing and relatively low key, but we'll have to see. I can't help feeling delighted that he's American and a former Republican voter because that means that anything he says against the current administration, however veiled or nuanced, is likely to hit harder.
I thought Conclave was fascinating, too. Like you, I would love to know more about what happened behind the scenes "in real life" this time.
I hope the weather has perked up for you. Amazingly, we have glorious sunshine in London at the moment!
I like that the conservatives think the new pope is WOKE 😉.
It has been very cold here. But the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing. 🌸🐦⬛
Yes, it's hilarious, isn't it? I'm sorry it's cold here. V hot here! But I can imagine how beautiful it is with flowers and birds in full bloom/song.
A very strong post, thank you. It is enlightening to read about these poor migrants and the assistance being given to them . It is such a cruel world out there.
Thank you so much, Angela. Yes, it certainly is. Thank goodness for people like those nuns who are doing what they can to try to make it better.
Excellent piece Christina. I’m almost ashamed to say I started to read thanks to the provocative header, but I’m glad I did! Powerful stuff, thanks.
Thank you so much, Alan. I'm glad the headline worked!!! I really appreciate your kind words.
This was so moving and so heartbreaking.
As a p.s. I will only add that I too am not a Catholic but Trump’s photo of himself as ‘the next Pope’ was not just offensive and hurtful to Catholics, as many in the media agreed - it was more, an affront to decency.
A disturbing tale that seemingly will never end.
On a lighter note, we had very pleasant young man as a patient some years ago. He was on leave from the Vatican, where he was training to be a priest
We had a number of fairly deep but light-hearted chats. He was in no doubt about my atheism and I had no doubts about his faith and commitment.
As he was leaving I joked that if, when my time came, I were to suddenly realise I had been wrong, would it be too late for me? He turned with a smile, made the sign, and said, 'Ego tu absolvo.'
As he headed again for the door I said my thanks and that I hoped I didn't need it.
He turned again and with a bigger smile said, 'Don't worry, I'm not qualified yet, so it's not valid'.
That made my day!
These nuns fill me with admiration for the way they walk the walk. Theirs is a model of Christianity I can respect and get behind, even though I don’t believe in a deity at all and most organised religion appalls me. I don’t suppose you know if it’s possible to support their work financially? Thanks so much for writing about them