Not even Catholic, but after reading news of his death, I just started tearing up, something I haven’t done in years. I don’t know why I started crying, but to see a man who was full of empathy and kindness pass away, crushed me.
Not even Catholic, but after reading news of his death, I just started tearing up, something I haven’t done in years. I don’t know why I started crying, but to see a man who was full of empathy and kindness pass away, crushed me.
Comments
You answered this yourself lol
Because you’re experiencing human empathy! You’re probably reading a lot of the coverage on some of the more profound things he’s said, his devotion to the people of Gaza, etc., and are feeling moved and hopeful. It’s always okay to cry for the dead.
A good person died. You dont need an excuse.
I’m Catholic just not very churchy at the moment but I think you’re hit the nail on the head. It was the simplicity of his life and his respect for all.
I’m culturally Catholic so my sadness is a little tempered. But I’m sad that we’ve lost the rare world leader who isn’t a total narcissistic colostomy bag.
He was a man of the people.
Seeing a lot of hate from people just reacting to the word “Catholic”
Pope Francis was the kindest pope we’ve had. He moved out of the Vatican into a little apartment because he felt the pope’s quarters were too gaudy.
He was the first pope to assert that gay people should be treated with respect and decency
And critically, he was the first pope to publicly recognize the church’s pedophelia problem and actually do something about it.
So many redditors assume he was some hard right conservative who hated queer people and loved Donald Trump.
He was very meek and kind…
I am not a practicing Catholic, but this man single-handedly helped some staunch catholic elders recognizing their bigotry.
I am so scared for who will replaced and what will happen. It’s ok to feel sadness
He was an important person and I know that he brought something to millions that they consider meaningful. His death is of consequence to millions of people.
We’re experiencing a shortage of world leaders who try to engage cooperatively in the world.
I mean the pope is probably the best example of a person that is as much if not more of a symbol than a person.
The pope is supposed to the human connection to god. That’s a lot more than just a dude.
Regardless of your belief, he was still one of societies symbols of humanities virtues. Pope Francis also got a lot of attention of some social reforms and some surprisingly liberal interpretations of the bible. And hey even if you don’t belive at all, isn’t “Pope confirms dogs do go to heaven” just a nice headline?
I find the above actually kind of funny. I grew up catholic and went to catholic school. A new pope was a big fucking deal. His more I guess not liberal reading, but accepting that interpretation is very valid and some things we just don’t know is a better way to put it, is not surprising at all given his background.
If you are curious he was a Jesuit. And the first one to be a Pope. Trust me there are popes from the past who would be rolling in their graves over this. Very broad strokes but Jesuitsa religious order of men you are know for being really into a more “spiritual” god. As in some sects are biblical literalists and frame the bible as the be all end all word of god and your relationship with god is based in that structure. Jesuits on the other hand take the “god is all that is in the world”. There are lots that are like priests and work for the church but also like scientists and doctors, teachers whatever. Not just priests and monks and such.
There big focuses are social equality. For example just recently they are working with reconciliation programs for indigenous residential schools. Which is wild since it was the church that did those in the first place. Incredibly progressive and imo what like religious groups should be doing? The also do like climate advocacy, and are super pro protecting refugees. They help folks get placement in Us and CAnada legally. I can go on, but yeah. Cool cool tenants.
That being said- all the above is the good stuff. I’m absolutely just sharing the positives.
He was a real dude. He called Christians in Palestine everyday. RIP
He was a good pope for most of his life. I don’t agree with what he was doing near the end of it, but he was a good man nonetheless.
Because you’re heartbroken knowing that one of the last experiences of his life was having to visit with J.D. Vance.
I am a recovering catholic. I cried too. He was a pope full of compassion and he rejected the pomp of being pope. He did not live in the palatial residence but kept his small plain room. No Ruby red shoes for him either. He kept his messages simple and he took on the sexual deviants in the church. I fear the church will swing back towards severe conservatism like Benedict was. I am so glad I no longer participate in this fairytale.
He was one of the more decent popes, who passed in a time when less than decent people are on the rise. Heck Republicans are already cheering about his death because he was too nice for their liking…
I’m not religious, but I know a good person when I see one. I think he was a very good person. I’m saddened at his passing.
No idea why. Kinda odd
I’m an atheist and I feel the same.
Because he was a good man, filled with empathy and compassion.
He was a good man, best pope in my lifetime. He really really tried to follow christs teachings about kindness, empathy, forgiveness, etc.
I hope they pick another good one. One that refuses to let his message be politicized.
Just think back to the Catholics hiding pedophiles for decades and the wealth they hoard while there are people dying of hunger. Fuck these people. All of them.
>to see a man who was full of empathy and kindness pass away, crushed me
You answered your own question. People respond to empathy and kindness. It’s not universal, and when you come across a person who has those qualities and is in a position to use them to make a difference in the world, and does so – those people are worth mourning whether we were close to them or not. I’d say that your feelings say something admirable about you.
I’m not Catholic, I don’t even really identify as religious at all. I think it would be very hard not to feel at least a little sad over the death of Pope Francis. We witnessed Pope Francis rise to power from literally nowhere and he truly was a Pontificant of the people. As a gay man I never imagined that a Priest of the Catholic church, let alone the Pope would speak out in favor of LGBT rights. Then you add to that that he spoke out against terrorism, antisemitism, racial inequality, male chauvinism, wealth inequality, and so many other topics used to historically ostracize and control the masses from the very pulpit that he was himself representing and you easily see why he was so beloved. I mean this was a man who literally had the world handed to him like so many of his predecessors and did exactly what most of us only hope we would do with that type of power and wealth if we were given it. He could have used his power and position to further enrich himself and forget where he came from but even on his deathbed he asked his representative to ask for peace and mercy.
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you pregnant ?
He wasn’t exactly woke, but he tried to keep the church’s eyes on kindness and empathy in a way that was a stark contrast to the Evangelical leaders of the US.
You do know the pope, all popes, protect child molesters
I am not shedding a tear.
À human being died. He’s gone. And even if he was right, the people who loved him won’t see him again for a long time. That sucks. Hell I’m kinda tearing up at the thought.
Empathy is good
Because… as the worlds worst catholic (me, I’m referring to me) the thing about Pope Francis was in a time that everyone wants to have a bitch fit and fight everyone else in the internet without having any damn skin in the game (you don’t get punched here, you can just be nasty) he tried to bridge a lot of gaps. Yes I’m not the biggest fan of his reforms in the church. But he darn well tried to be a good man and be good to others. And as such, I presume you’re a good person with empathy. So cheers mate. I’m having a White Russian to toast you and our departed pope.
I cried too and I’m not Catholic but I studied in Catholic school and I feel like I’m part of your community too.
He actively tried to change the Catholic Church and the world for better. I’m a Catholic, and I’m very sad about this news, but use his ways to tell my kids how to treat others.
Assuming the OP is an American, the fact that the Pope was killed by the American vice president?
PS: just asking questions for entertainment
Maybe you felt bad one of the last days he had on earth was with JD Vance. Even I empathize with that.
I’m not Catholic but I think he was the greatest Pope we as a world ever had. He was empathetic, kind, and nonjudgmental. I shed a tear as well. I hope the next Pope follows his lead.
The fuck if I know dude was like 90, old people die shit happens.
And yes I said the same thing when it was my family too.
🤗 Because you are a kind human.
I didn’t cry. I didn’t even when Pope St. John Paul II died…a much more serious, charismatic, and consequential man than Francis. The Pope went to Poland and the regime fell, the Pope went to Chile and the regime fell; the list goes on.
Pope Francis enabled Islam in Europe.
He was a very progressive Pope that introduced a lot of positive current generation changes to the Catholic church.
I guess his death hit you hard because he was a prominent figure. It happened to many with Elizabeth, and she certainly wasn’t much appreciated outside the UK. I think it has nothing to do with him being a compassionate pope, as many here suggest, but rather his high profile.
Pull yourself together! Jesus Christ..
Deep down you are actually a Catholic. It’s the only plausible explanation. Try going to a mass on Sunday and see what happens
I also felt sad when learning the news, he was charismatic and progressive in his preaching. A great man had died, I think feeling sad is a natural reaction.
I don’t care for religion. but yeah Pope Francis was a good guy. the next pope has big shoes to attempt to fill.
Crazy thing-I was visiting Rome last year and there he was. Mid sermon. Got to stop and listen for a bit. I cried and I am an atheist. No idea why.
Pope Francis was a great man that dedicated his life to compassion and service. The world truly lost a great man.
His respect for the humanity, his humbleness and sense of humor will be missed
I’m definitely not religious but I think he was a really good Pope. He seemed to have a lot of empathy for diverse folks and wanted to move in a more positive direction.
Rest in Peace…
Personally I grew up in a world where Pope Francis existed, from the very day I was born he was a nice old man. For me Pope Francis was a remnant of the world I had grown up in, the world where the United States was fucking cool, the EU was competing with the US, the world was more progressive and accepting…
That world is gone
It’s a lot more natural and human than making fun of the dead – which many are.
I cried for Jim Henson.
Maybe there are some thoughts and feelings in you that need to come up and have not, that his death touched
Would probably be worth giving some thought
It was the same for me. I almost never cry over these types of things and even though I was raised as a Catholic I never really continued studying it into my teenage years or adulthood. I think it is because (in my opinion) he was such an open-minded Catholic and from all the clips Ive seen of him was so kind and selfless. It’s always a sad day to lose someone who was so good to everyone.
Wasn’t he against same sex marriage?
The Pope isn’t someone I give much thought to. When I learned that he had died this morning, I considered some of the things he stood for, as a leader, and felt sad for his passing.
Because it’s hard seeing people pass away pr leave or anything like that. It’s normal ❤️. It means you’re human :).
I think it feels like good is losing. I felt this way about Jimmy Carter dying and I’ll feel the same when David Attenborough dies. It sucks to lose the good guys.
I believe, sometimes, that the whole world has an aching heart.
God bless your kind soul!
I am far from Catholic, but he was just a kind and compassionate person. A leader sorely needed in today’s world.
John Paul was my pope, this one was just another, no feelings.
We are all feeling the loss. This Pope was fearless in the face of inhumanity. He called out that new convert to the church JD Vance. Made sure he got a class on church dogma before he died. You don’t have to be Catholic to feel the loss this leaves us at a time we need his type more than ever. Maybe he got through to Vance? At least made him see his greed is not good for humanity. It won’t end well for Vance. History won’t be kind to MAGA.
ngl for a non-Catholic, that’s weird.
Aww ❤️❤️❤️
You are not alone….I cried too
I’ve had this with Pope John Paul II
No man is an island
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls.
It tolls for thee.
I am an athiest and am mourning his death, so your reaction is normal and human. I have nothing but good things to say about him and the love he spread around the world. His character was a blessing to the world.
Makes you realize he’s not that bad when you compare it to the people leading the world right now.
I am not from the UK and I don’t like the monarchy, but I sobbed when Queen Elizabeth II died. I think it was more how significant it was and having recently watched The Crown so she was more human to me.
History will smile on his reign. He was a good man who represented some of the best parts of Catholicism
God wouldn’t cure the Pope so you’re gonna hope god helps you?
Maybe that made you realize about your own mortality and that not even the best medical attention focused only on your own person or any status or amount of money will ever matter cause we all gonna die someday.
Because he is famous
He was such a good person, and to be such a good person while being in such an influential position is incredible. It genuinely should have been any other world leader.
Catholic guilt.
I can somehow relate as someone who broke away from the Catholic church. I felt really sad when he died. He was such a kind pope. He was so progressive and opened the church to anyone and that was honestly what the Catholic church needed. He was so accepting and welcoming. He felt safe, something that was so rare to feel in a religious leader.
I cried when John Paul the 2nd passed.
Me too!
I did too. He was an amazing man and the world is a darker place for losing him. Hopefully the next pope will continue his legacy of compassion and service
Empathy
It may have been the straw that broke the camels back. Maybe you’ve been carrying a lot of baggage around that needed crying over and this was the last straw. In any case, I feel like it indicates a great kindness in you. Say a prayer for him and be ok.
i was baptized catholic but not raised very religiously like i am highly critical of christianity specifically but i crieddddd today i was so affected by this
bc real kindness is rare, and losing it feels like the world just tilted a bit darker
Grief’s weird like that — sometimes it hits you sideways, even for people you didn’t know.
Kindness sticks, even from a distance.
It’s hard to explain why we get emotional over some deaths and not others. Best thing to do is not question it, just be pleased you’ve got it in your to be sad about someone else’s passing. It says a lot about you as a person that it upset you so much, even after not knowing the man.
You answered your own question. You saw a man that showed empathy and kindness. I am not religious but I recall Pope Francis consistently rare and even humorous. Some people didn’t like that this Pope was a little progressive, open minded because his love for peace and harmony was priority. Perhaps you are an empathetic person too and because of this — emotions can stir especially during these challenging times