Skip to main content

A compassionate pastor with a warm, loving heart for the poor and marginalised

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ* 
In the death of Pope Francis, the world has lost one of the greatest personalities of modern times! We are saddened that he is no longer in our midst!
 He was truly a compassionate pastor with a warm, loving heart for the poor and marginalised, the excluded and the exploited, the refugees and the migrants, the LGBTGIA+ community, the victims of war and human trafficking and in fact, with all sub-alterns and those who live on the peripheries of society. 
Pope Francis transcended boundaries and exclusiveness, divisions and discrimination of every kind. He was convinced that humans should build bridges and not walls, to reach out to others, particularly the lost, the last and the least. His Encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’ speaks strongly about this.
Pope Francis was deeply troubled by what is happening to the environment. He cared for our common home and wished that all take responsibility to ensure that our planet earth is liveable for all. His writings ‘Laudato Si’ and ‘Laudate Deum’ on the environment, bear testimony to his concern.
Pope Francis was a man of peace! He spoke out unequivocally against every war and the industrial military complex; he took a strong stand against the ‘culture of death’. He spoke directly to the most powerful people on earth reminding them of what they should be doing. His last tweet on 20 April evening began with “I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible…”
Above all, Pope Francis was a man of God, sent to be a pilgrim on earth; to motivate all of us with a newer, deeper and more meaningful hope! He was a complete human being who left no stone unturned to make our world a more just, peaceful and humane place for all! He was and is a SAINT! 
Millions all over will miss him! In his death the world is orphaned!
---
*Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, justice, reconciliation & peace activist/writer

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Can free‑living Indian street dogs teach us about how to care for pet dogs?

By Daniel Ramp, Kapil Vishwas Patwardhan, Rosalie Chapple  We give our pet dogs shelter, veterinary care, affection, training and play. We decide when they eat, where they sleep, when they go outside, who they meet, and how they move through the world.
2 comments
»

A path of self-reliance in place of migration: Saplings, nutrition gardens and perseverance

By Vikas Meshram*  In the tribal belt stretching from Banswara to Dahod, the day often begins with a glance at the sky. The fields are small, the land uneven and sloping, and irrigation mostly means whatever the rain chooses to give. Yet in the villages of this region, a different story has been unfolding over the past few years. Sitting in meetings of Vaagdhara’s Gram Swaraj groups, farmers have begun to treat water, forest, land, livestock and seed as their real capital. 
Post a Comment
»

100,000 dead, 4 million displaced: Myanmar's post-coup war grinds on as the junta loses ground

By Nava Thakuria*  At least 100,000 people, including civilians, have been killed in Myanmar's conflicts since the military coup of 1 February 2021, according to the UN. Kelley Anne Eckels-Currie, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, gave the figure to the UN General Assembly in New York on 27 October 2026. She called President Min Aung Hlaing a tyrant who still deliberately attacks civilians to force them into submission.
Post a Comment
»