The Pope has died by Sue Robin

The Pope has died. I, an old Jewish woman, weep upon hearing this. During his tenure, he touched my heart with his loving kindness. Like all of us, he was not perfect, but he knew how to love. Some people called it radical love. I saw it as recognizing the humanity in each of his fellow humans. A true equality of spirit.

I know people who can teach about love and about kindness, but in their personal lives, they seem to lack the depth and the ability to truly accept the other. Talking about love, but not really sharing it. I know those who give generously of their person, the only hope being for an acknowledgment, but to watch someone love without expectation of anything in return brings joy to my heart. The pope kept reaching towards the higher good. At least that is how it appears to me from afar.

Even Trump had something kind to say, sort of. He appropriately offered his condolences on the passing of the Pope, commenting on the goodness of this man who loved helping people. He then said, in his post on Truth Social, “Melania and I will be going to Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome. We look forward to being there!”

He went on to talk about himself and how he will meet all the important people at the funeral and fix the war that former President Biden made into such a mess and talk about tariffs. What?

If memory serves me correctly, one looks forward to a party or a BBQ or a movie, but not to a funeral. He might’ve said, “We will be honored to pay tribute to a great man.” One with grace would refrain from business and focus on the life just lost. Even the simplest of people skills gives Trump trouble. But if poor people skills were his only issue, I think I could live with that. His treatment of immigrants is a slap in the face to Pope Francis.

For myself, and perhaps for the world too, if I could ask Pope Francis but one question, it would be, “How does one love someone who is filled with hate?” I struggle with that one. I do not want to become what I detest — a hater — but how do I turn that around and love someone evil? It is easy to love some people. Family and friends, and even strangers who are openhearted, but it is much more difficult to extend that love to someone spewing hate. I did not have trouble in my work caring for the mentally ill, nor do I have trouble opening my heart to the homeless and addicts. I can differentiate between things they do and their humanity. I cannot seem to apply that principle to Hitler or Trump and his minions. It keeps me in a tumult.

I do hope the pope’s spirit will live on and that all of us touched by him will work towards a radical love for our fellow humans, even those who are filled with hate and ugliness. May he rest in peace.