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Warfare has not ceased in the world, and many lives have been lost. Amid an unprecedented deepening crisis, his appeal for peace was extremely serious.
Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, passed away.
He was hospitalized in February and was reportedly critically ill for some time, but he recovered. And just a day before his death, he appeared before his followers at the Vatican and issued a statement on Easter.
In the statement, he said, “Peace is possible” and called for a cessation of fighting in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. He urged the countries concerned to work hard to achieve a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The pope’s “will,” in which he continued to voice his hope for peace right up to the moment of his death, is a weighty one. The leaders of major powers and others, who are responsible for global stability but have instead deepened turmoil, should take it to heart.
In 2013, he was elected to lead the Catholic Church, which has about 1.4 billion followers. In the 12 years since then, he has devoted himself to helping not only his followers but also those suffering from conflict and poverty, preaching the preciousness of peace through his words and deeds.
In 2016, when U.S. President Donald Trump, who was then a candidate running in the U.S. presidential election, pledged to build a wall on the border with Mexico, Francis criticized Trump, saying, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” As a religious leader, he was undaunted, even when he faced superpowers.
The pope visited Japan in 2019 — the first papal visit in 38 years — and appealed to the world for nuclear abolition from the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
During his time as pope, he visited about 60 countries. As the first pope elected from South America, he actively traveled to developing countries in Africa and Asia, areas previous popes from Europe had not paid much attention to. He may also have felt a sense of crisis over the growing shift away from the church in Western nations.
As the world became more divided due to the ulterior motives of major powers, he was outstanding in his efforts to embody a spirit of tolerance by engaging with people who have different points of view.
Francis became the first pope to meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest group in the Eastern Orthodox Church, since the East-West schism. He improved relations with China by concluding a provisional agreement under which the Vatican would appoint bishops from candidates chosen by the Chinese side.
He promoted reforms with the goal of a “more open church.” He went against taboos, such as by allowing bishops to give their blessings to same-sex couples, but this has drawn strong criticism from conservative members of the clergy who value tradition.
A vote will soon be held by the cardinals, the highest-ranking members of the clergy after the pope, to decide on a new pope. With no solution to the wars in sight, it is hoped that the next pope will succeed their predecessor’s will to achieve a peaceful and tolerant world.
