This week saw the passing of Pope Francis, who died at his residence in the Vatican at the age of 88. Since becoming pope in 2012, the leader of the world’s over one billion Roman Catholics developed a reputation as a progressive pontiff, championing the rights of migrants and the poor, reaching out to LGBTQ+ communities, and urging action on climate change.
The world’s first Argentine pope also “made Catholic diplomacy relevant again,” writes Victor Gaetan in a new essay. “Francis charted a diplomatic course independent of Western capitals” and “elevated Catholic leaders in countries that had never been part of the church’s governance,” leaving behind “a strengthened diplomatic network with access across the world.” The challenge for his successor, Gaetan writes, will be to “capitalize on the vast goodwill accrued under Francis to advance the church’s priorities of compassion, justice, and peace.”
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