Examining One of Pope Francis's Final Writings

In the days since his passing, Pope Francis has been referred to as a modernizer, influencer, reformer, and outsider. All of these things applied to him. However, he was also the caretaker of the Western world's oldest institution. Even if he accomplished this in his own way, he upheld the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

One of Francis' final pieces, which was sent to The New York Times and has never been published before, makes this clear. It is a brief preface to a book about the church's teachings on marriage and love that was created for young Catholics. The book was published by the Vatican-approved YOUCAT Foundation, which stands for youth catechism or doctrine, and aims to make the church's teachings accessible to young people. The foundation distributes books in 70 languages globally.

Francis states in the foreword that marriage is a priority, a sacred institution, and a relationship that can only exist between a man and a woman. He doesn't make any fresh theological claims. Nevertheless, the letter demonstrates Francis's character as a pope: a practical and sympathetic communicator who deftly repackaged church teaching for the contemporary world without necessarily altering it.

“It’s a confirmation of a legacy,” Raúl Zegarra, a professor of Catholicism at Harvard, said. “It’s really a classic text by the pope.”

His style of rhetoric

Francis sums up his attitude to the papacy in his opening remarks.

Francis, the first Latin American pope, writes, "In my native Argentina, there is a dance that I love very much, one that I frequently participated in when I was young: the tango." He then likens marriage to the tango in all of its "discipline and dignity."

"Seeing young people who are in love with one another and have the guts to make their love into something amazing—'I want to love you until death do us part'—always touches me." What a remarkable pledge!

Francis emphasizes a core Catholic doctrine in this: marriage is a sacred, important bond. But rather than being austere, he does it with charm. Brett C. Hoover, a professor at Loyola Marymount University and a Catholic theologian, described it as "part of his teaching style."

Francis was a master at teaching spiritual teachings using symbols, emulating Jesus' parables from the Bible. Francis may have honed this ability when teaching literature to high school males in his twenties. In his role as pope, he used jokes, symbolism, and analogies in stories. A good priest should, according to Francis, "smell of the sheep." He likened the church to a "field hospital" that provided medical care to the most ill members of society.

Unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who was reserved and scholastic, Francis was able to communicate with a large audience through this strategy.

According to Margaret Susan Thompson, a history professor at Syracuse University, "he made his commentary accessible." "It is both tactile and visual."

His relationship to reality

In recent days, Francis has been remembered as "the pope of the people." He refused to shy away from the unpleasant facts of life, such as illness, poverty, and misery. He cleaned the inmates' feet. Every night, he contacted those seeking refuge at a Gaza church. In his sermon at Francis' funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re stated, "He always sought to shed light on the problems of our time."

The foreword makes this clear. Francis quickly grounds the desire for marriage in the statistical probability of divorce. He wrote, "Neither you nor I are blind." "What percentage of marriages today end after three, five, or seven years?" "Perhaps your parents also started the sacrament of marriage with that same courage, but were unable to take their love to completion," he added in a personal touch.

Francis showed during his pontificate that he recognized that the church's decrees regarding divorce, celibacy before marriage, and same-sex unions could seem unachievable.

Mr. Zegarra stated, "Francis served as a parish priest before becoming an urban bishop." Francis observed how difficult it was for people to live out church teachings from the front lines of faith. Francis attempted to determine "whether the theology of marriage we have would stretch enough to incorporate people that aren't traditionally incorporated by it," according to Mr. Hoover, even though he didn't alter his doctrine.

He defied custom and married 20 couples shortly after his election, some of whom had already lived together, and one of whom had a grown kid. By allowing local priests and bishops more discretion in 2016, he made it possible for divorced and remarried Catholics to take communion. He made the decision to permit priests to bless same-sex marriages in 2023.

According to Mr. Zegarra, "this experience is really something that shapes this preface and that really shapes his whole papacy."

His legacy

Francis's letter will no longer be included in the book for young people on love now that he is dead; the YOUCAT Foundation says the next pope will take over that task.

However, it also showcases some of the pope's signature policies in addition to his flair. Francis makes repeated allusions to his 2016 apostolic exhortation, "Amoris Laetitia," a 256-page report on the family that urged the church to be more inclusive. He also makes reference to his suggestion that churches set up a program called "marriage catechumenate" to help people get ready for marriage.

Some people will find the letter to be a confirmation of Francis' legacy of love, practicing and emphasizing it. Others will use it as a last reminder that his efforts to change church doctrine fell short of their expectations.

The committee that will determine whether Francis will be canonized may also take this document into consideration, out of all of his publications. According to Ms. Thompson, the group makes an effort to examine what the pope has written in detail.

Francis offers one last plea to everyone who reads it.

"Have faith in God, have faith in love, and have faith that you may go on the journey of a lifetime love. He writes, "Until further notice isn't love; love wants to be permanent."

Humans want to be welcomed without hesitation, and those who don't get that experience frequently carry a wound for the rest of their lives without even realizing it. Rather, individuals who join a union win everything—life to the fullest—while losing nothing.