We join the Catholic faithful of the Philippines and the world, people from different sectors, nations, and faith denominations in mourning the passing of Pope Francis, as we celebrate his life of service for the poor and downtrodden.
He advocated for a church of the poor, a church that prioritizes the needs and wellbeing of the poor and actively promotes justice and solidarity with the poor. In the Philippines, Pope Francis went to typhoon-devastated areas in Leyte. He needed to be here, he was quoted many times saying, and expressed strong solidarity with the people affected. Pope Francis also condemned the inequality and corruption that worsened the Filipino people’s suffering.
Pope Francis gave the highest importance to human rights and human dignity, and asked to “Place human rights first…even when this means going against the current.” He clearly said: “Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” Pope Francis puts human rights and caring for the people and planet at the center of his messages and writings, and led the faithful and the people in challenging social conditions and structures, to work for the attainment of people’s inalienable rights. He continued to echo that “the path to peace calls for respect for human rights.”
Pope Francis’ social encyclical, Laudato Si, laid down the Holy See’s stand that “We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social…but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” He called for an integrated approach to combating poverty, one which protects nature while at the same time restores dignity to the excluded.
In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’ social encyclical on “fraternity and social friendship,” he appealed for “a better, more just and peaceful world,” stressing the need to address the social problems of poverty, exploitation, exclusion of the majority of the world’s poor and the dominance of corporate greed and profit. Pope Francis stressed the need to stand for human rights and human dignity, at the same time calling for a stop to wars, and stressed the importance of global action to uphold human dignity and rights. Pope Francis continuously called on governments to listen to the cries of the people, and said that “war deprives the people of their most basic rights.”
Pope Francis also regularly visited prisoners, and urged that the rights of prisoners be upheld and their lives treated with dignity. In 2015, he received letters from hundreds of Filipino political prisoners, who went on hunger strike during his papal visit in the Philippines to underscore their dire conditions in jail.
He strongly advocated for the rights of migrants and refugees. He called for the abolition of the death penalty. Pope Francis also supported the recognition of the rights of LGBTQIA, seeing their rights as no different from other persons. He also moved to expand women’s roles within the Catholic Church, and for more women’s representation, which he also expressed in his visit to the Philippines.
Since the beginning of the attacks on Gaza, even in his last public appearance on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis called for a stop to the genocide. Pope Francis called the attacks on Gaza “deplorable,” and the humanitarian situation in Palestine “very serious and shameful.” Pope Francis did not hold back in advocating for a world of genuine peace that can only come with genuine freedom.
“If I had to choose between a wounded Church that goes out on to the streets and a sick, withdrawn Church, I would choose the first,” said Pope Francis, an expression of his deep solidarity with the poor. We fervently hope that many of our faithful will continue to reflect on the life, writings, and works of Pope Francis, which our communities, the Philippines, and the world seriously need today and for the days to come. We call on them to act on the pressing problems of poverty, injustice, oppression and exploitation.
Requiescat in pace, Pope Francis. We thank you for standing in solidarity with the poor.