by Emil Guillermo
It was the Holy Week surprise. We expected Good Friday and the Resurrection on Sunday. But Oh My God Monday was not in the cards.
We mourn the passing of diversity’s pope, Francis, nee Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina.
Who says diversity and identity politics are dead? Francis was the first pope from Latin America in nearly 1,300 years.
That still matters.
And his leaving has me wondering if the diversity streak will extend post-Francis, to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines.
He has the charm and the charisma, and was even called the “Asian Francis.”
The first Asian Filipino pope? Ay-sus…
In time, we shall consider the conclave. For now, let’s consider what Francis has really meant to the church.
My Pope?
Francis, the inclusive pope, the people’s pope, will always be my pope. But I’m still not sure if the Catholic Church is my church.
I see him as the forgiving pope.
I’d like to think he would forgive me for my doubts. For I must confess, I am a bad Catholic. But a principled bad Catholic.
I don’t like how the church is run.
In the last 20 years, more than $5 billion was spent on the allegations of sexual abuse of minors, according to a January 2025 report released by the Center for the Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown.
These are just the cases in the US and it only goes back to around 2000. It doesn’t include the earlier days of scandals in Boston or the Mahony scandals in California.
The January report covers just a fraction of the problem.
I was never violated by a priest, but any violation – and there were more than 16,000 cases deemed credible by the report in the US alone during this period – is a violation toward all 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
Francis tried to make changes. He shut down the Peruvian-based Sodalititium Christianae Vitae because of a culture of sexual and psychological abuse of its members. In the US, he defrocked and laicized the convicted Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
But no matter what Francis did, any reforms to undo the sins of the Catholic pedophiles and abusers were never enough. And nothing he did ended the culture of abuse completely.
On other fronts, Francis did seek greater acceptance for LGBTQ Catholics, authorizing blessings for same-sex couples, and allowing transgender people to be baptized and become godparents. But once again, did Francis go far enough?
Francis urged that women have a greater role in the church, but stopped well short of the priesthood.
Too bad. Parishes with female administrators have been among the best church communities I have been a part of. At least one woman I know left the church and is now a practicing Episcopal minister, a holy mother.
I suppose in such a strict church culture bound by tradition, little moves are much bigger than they appear.
But it never seemed to be significant enough, at least to solve the church’s problems. And never enough to convince me the church had a monopoly on spirituality. There are ways to be spiritual absent the dogma of Catholicism.
Yet, as I fail to reconcile the ways of the church and my own faith, I know how deeply Catholicism is rooted in my Filipino-ness. And I know that the Holy Father, if I were fortunate to be in his presence, would have seen and heard me.
And maybe allowed for my confession. If that happened, I may have rejoined the flock.
The Vice President meets The Pontiff
I doubt JD Vance, as the last US political leader to pay the pope a visit, asked for a confession.
Carrying water for Donald Trump, I think would require more than a confession.
Besides, I don’t know if a single human like that could say enough Our Fathers and Hail Marys in a lifetime.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism, did receive a tie and some Easter candies from the Pope during their Holy Week meeting, according to reports.
But if Vance wanted to earn his Catholic stripes and make news, he should have repented for all the Trump administration has done.
How about maliciously striking fear in the hearts of all immigrants and migrants, assumed by ICE to be criminals who don’t belong? Francis was pro-immigrant, pro-sanctuary, and anti-ICE.
Francis was the anti-Trump.
Vance could have asked for prayers from the pope, who has also urged peace between Ukraine and Russia. Vance? He feels it may be time to move on and abandon Ukraine to Russia.
Vance could have asked for forgiveness for what the Trump administration is doing, favoring tax cuts to billionaires instead of making a difference in the lives of the poor and working class.
He could have asked for the restoration of USAID funds to continue to keep the world from famine and disease.
Vance could have sought forgiveness for his public acts. But he didn’t. He’s loyal to one man. And it’s not a pope. It’s a president, the guy who thinks “How Great Thou Art” is a hymn about him!
The president of the United States could only come up with two lines on his social media post: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!”
Better than “thoughts and prayers.” It’s genial, but inauthentic. Like it was written by AI.
Later, Trump sounded even more robotic as he spoke from a White House balcony. He announced an executive order for all federal and state flags to fly at half-mast in the pope’s honor.
“He was a good man. Worked hard. He loved the world,” said Trump. (Was he talking about the pope? Or practicing Pete Hegseth’s political obituary? )
This may be Francis’ parting gift to all Americans. Trump and Vance can’t utter his name or be in his presence without being exposed for the buffoons that they are.
Compared to a holy man, Trump and Vance are soiled, unworthy, and disgraceful. Trump is, after all, the man I call “Convicted Felon, Donald Trump, 34,” as in counts of fraud.
And yet, you know, this. Francis would forgive them. Trump and Vance are the leaders on the margins. He’d wash their feet.
That’s what this pope would do. He just wouldn’t have voted for them.
EMIL GUILLERMO is a journalist, commentator, and stage monologist. See him on YouTube.com/@emilamok1
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