CAPIZ CITY – The world grieves.

With the announcement of Pope Francis’s passing this morning by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, Catholics and non-Catholics all over the world expressed their grief on social media and other platforms, many expressing their gratitude for Pope Francis who encouraged the church to move closer to the people in the margins.

Cardinal Farrell said in his announcement, “(Pope Francis) taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.”

Pope Francis’ message on Easter Sunday, which was his last, is his hope for peace in the world, particularly in war torn countries like Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza.

‘I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible!’ he said.

In the Philippines, with over 85 million Catholics as per the 2020 census, church bells tolled, paying respects to a leader who has allowed them to experience a father in the church who actually recognized their struggles and difficulties and to speak about it.

Urban poor leader Eufemia “Mimi” Doringo told Bulatlat that the country’s poor are grieving at Pope Francis’s passing. “We are crying because we lost one genuine servant,” she said.

She said that Pope Francis was a different kind of church leader who broke the concept that the church should not interfere in political issues, which she said is essential in the upliftment of the dignity of the human person.

“Pope Francis encouraged the Catholic Church to listen to the laments of the oppressed. He is the face of Christ in our time,” Doringo who is running for a senate seat this election said, adding, “Pope Francis brought light and hope to us living in poverty because of the love and care that we felt from him, especially with the many issues that we face as a marginalized sector.”

Survivors and families of the victims of Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs,” wrote in a statement, “Pope Francis was always speaking about solidarity and justice. He made strong exhortations that the lives of the poor are valuable. He urged everyone to hear our cries.”

Rise Up for Life and for Rights continued, “The spiritual guidance of Pope Francis was seen as integral to inspiring courage for the poor and Church leaders alike in speaking out against the killings.”

Former Bayan Muna Congressman and now second nominee Karlos Isagani Zarate in a statement wrote that Pope Francis’s “departure leaves a profound void, not just for the Catholic Church, but for all of humanity.”

He added that Pope Francis “held a special place in the hearts of the marginalized, the poor, and the vulnerable sectors of society, whose struggles he championed with compassion and conviction.”

“His words and actions consistently called for a more equitable world, a world where dignity and justice prevail,” he continued.

Zarate is hopeful that the reforms which Pope Francis started in the church for “greater inclusivity and social responsibility” would continue to “inspire and guide us towards the realization of a truly just and equitable society.”

This is also the hope of Moro leader and Makabayan senatorial candidate Amirah “Mek” Lidasan, who saw in Pope Francis’s care for the Indigenous Peoples and recognition of the struggle of the Muslim people, especially in Palestine, as a bridge in enlivening the interfaith movement and for the Catholic Church’s involvement in the struggle for peace and the cessation of the culture of violence.

Lidasan is hopeful that the Catholic Church’s leadership would continue in following the path of Pope Francis adding that a decade ago Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had set this example when he washed the feet Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao during a Holy Thursday celebration.

Rise Up also gave witness to how Pope Francis inspired members of the Catholic church, lay and clergy, to take the side of the poor. It wrote in a statement, “When our loved ones were killed under the drugwar policy, some Church leaders stood with us, when almost everyone else scattered… We know that Pope Francis encouraged and nurtured this solidarity with us, even though it resulted in bishops and other Church people being berated and threatened.”

“I am hoping for the Catholic Church to continue to give life to the legacy of Pope Francis, that its leaders would be encouraged to be concerned, be involved, and to take action on interfaith movements and of the environment,” Lidasan said. 

“Pope Francis is teaching us to become activists, to be concerned with what is around us – the people, the communities, and the environment,” she added. 

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis is the 266^th pope of the Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013, to replace then Pope Benedict XVI who resigned from the papacy. (RVO)