For 12 years, Pope Francis was the most powerful Christian on the world stage, using his voice to elevate the poor and the marginalized.
Millions of progressive Christians in the United States, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, considered him to be a powerful counterweight to a rising conservative Christian power. He was the magnetic center for their values.
His death on Monday leaves behind a question gnawing inside their minds.
In a world without Pope Francis, where their values feel particularly vulnerable, where do they go from here?
“This moment is critical now,” Bishop Sean W. Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said. “For those of us who want to embody the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes, and the love that Jesus showed in the world, this is now more important than ever.”
Pope Francis stood in contrast to a brand of Christianity that has increasing power in the United States. It is mixed with nationalism and, according to Bishop Rowe, is “not only fundamentally not Christian” but “also dangerous.”
“We have to begin to step up and communicate this message in ways that are winsome and compelling,” he added. “Politics are certainly co-opting Christian language and the Christian story. It is now ours to take that back.”