Pope Francis, R.I.P.

Pope Francis died recently in Rome. He had been sick for several months, though the Vatican press office had constantly told us he was improving. He wasn’t. He was very ill, it was very obvious in how he looked, and it was hard to understand why the Vatican minions kept making or allowing him work given his condition. At least they didn’t conceal that he had died.

Given the number of disagreements many of us have had with him — on illegal immigration, gays, global warming, his repression of the Latin Mass, his refusal to say anything about the catastrophe in Catholic Venezuela, his Castro-coddling, his recrudescence of liberation theology, his tendency to always side with the state over the individuals, his loathing for President Trump, and his far left and even kinky, creepy, associates — it came as something of a relief. A course correction may follow, particularly if the next pope to emerge from the white smoke brings us a tough-minded African or Asian pope.

All the same, we are not ghouls, we don’t wish anyone to die, and he was the head of the Church, so we wish him well.

J.D. Vance, who was one of the last people to see him alive, wrote a gracious acknowledgment on X:

His meeting was here:

There were many things that we did appreciate about him — from his unwavering defense of life, to his refusal to endorse trans ideology, to the fact that he tried to clean up some of the Vatican’s sleezy finances. Unlike leftist politicians, his hand was never found in the till. I always appreciated his condemnation of “throwaway culture,” which encompassed many undesirable things in consumer culture. And despite being sick, he did make time to meet with J.D. Vance, and give small gifts to his family, which the vice president expressed appreciation for.

His gaffes, e.g., “too much faggotry in the seminaries” were often actually endearing, given that many of us know that rampant homosexuality in seminaries, actually chasing out non-homosexuals, has been a problem — it was intriguing that he knew this, too, though most of us wouldn’t have used his language. His smacking of a pilgrim who grabbed at his sleeve was endearing, too — who wouldn’t get fed up with that kind of behavior? He was sincerely apologetic in both instances, which is rare in a world leader of any kind.

His forays into U.S. politics were less endearing, particularly his coddling of powerful global abortion promoters such as Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, refusing to deny them Holy Communion despite the obvious blood on their hands, and his conflicts with President Trump and President Milei of his native Argentina. He also punished more orthodox bishops, seemingly for vindictive reasons.

But in all, his intentions were good, and he tried to do the right thing. Whether he was able, or fell short is where the contentiousness lies. He was limited by the Vatican deep-state bureaucracy, though he was also a micromanager, enough to be called the “dictator pope” by some, and he was limited by having only lived in Argentina, which is where he learned his economics. But now that he has passed, we can try to recall the good things he did, the broad message of caring for the marginalized, and say a prayer for his soul, as he would have appreciated. Rest in peace.