Pope Francis

This world needs a steady supply of good men to outweigh the crimes and chicanery of the many. Pope Francis, who died today, was one such. There have been some extraordinarily good popes in the last hundred years (there had to be to make up for the likes of Alexander VI, the 15th century Borgia pope). These included John XXIII, John Paul II (now Saint John Paul II), and Francis, who probably also will be canonized some day.

This has not been a good time for the Catholic Church. There has been a worldwide plague of pedophilia among ministers of the Gospel—especially severe as priests in the Roman Rite may not marry, leaving little outlet for their loneliness. Also, in most Western countries, attendance at churches has been dwindling.

(Yet virtually all popes have come from Western countries. The only exception I could think of in recent memory is John Paul II, who hailed from Poland.)

Controlling the Catholic church is a tall order. It is difficult to be at one and the same time a hard-headed businessman and a saint.

Although I am nobody’s idea of a practicing Catholic, I still have strong emotional ties to the church as a result of eleven years of religious education and the helpfulness of the Catholic chaplain at Dartmouth College. When I came down with a brain tumor (chromophobe adenoma) after my Dartmouth insurance was canceled after graduation in 1966, it was Monsignor William Nolan who managed to talk the insurer to continue covering me and preventing my illness from bankrupting my family.

So, Pope Francis, may angels escort you to your reward.