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Pope Francis Has Died (sky.com) 172

Posted by msmash from the RIP dept.
Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, the Vatican said Monday. The pontiff, who was Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church, became pope in 2013 after his predecessor Benedict XVI resigned. On February 14, the Pope was admitted to hospital for bronchitis treatment. From a report: Born in 1936, Francis was the first pope from South America. His papacy was marked by his championing of those escaping war and hunger, as well as those in poverty, earning him the moniker the "People's Pope." In 2016, he washed the feet of refugees from different religions at an asylum centre outside Rome in a "gesture of humility and service."

He also made his views known on a wide range of issues, from climate change to wealth inequality and the role of women in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis Has Died More | Reply

Pope Francis Has Died

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  • RIP (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BettyJJ ( 2689927 ) on Monday April 21, 2025 @04:11AM (#65320011)

    And to think that he met Vance yesterday...

    • Vances fault. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bussdriver ( 620565 ) on Monday April 21, 2025 @04:34AM (#65320047)

      Vance is so toxically infuriating it certainly did kill the Pope; who didn't meet with him and sent his 2nd to educate Vance then somehow Vance still got a short private meeting anyway... to likely lecture the Pope in circular argumentative bullshit... accelerating his demise.

    • Re:RIP (Score:5, Funny)

      by quenda ( 644621 ) on Monday April 21, 2025 @04:40AM (#65320055)

      And to think that he met Vance yesterday...

      Let's hope he meets Vance's boss tomorrow.

    • Now, in the spirit of the scientific method, we'll have to wait until the Church elects a new Pope and then send JD Vance to meet with him, so we can determine experimentally whether Vance's presence is or is not toxic to popes.

    • Well he'll have a fresh impression when he meets up the boss, in order to confirm what the boss already knows - he's a craven self-serving shitpiece who pretends to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in name only while doing absolutely nothing to treat his neighbors as he would like to be treated.

      • What if he wants someone to deport him for his crimes but is too cowardly to do it himself so he deports others in the hope that the backlash will finally treat him as he knows he deserves?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by BKX ( 5066 )

        Hey, totally off-topic but I'm going to respond to your sig. It's even worse than you make it out to be. The Slashdot source actually has Unicode support. It has for more than 20 years. The problem is that it wasn't very good, so when they turned it on, assholes got to work breaking things. Rather than actually fix it, they just turned it off and left it that way. What broke, you ask? Direction markers. If you put a right-to-left direction marker in your comment, then entire rest of the page would be interp

    • And to think that he met Vance yesterday...

      That'll be in Alanis Morissette's followup to "Ironic" -- "Coincidental?"

      Met JD, died the next day.

    • I think he met JD, thought "Shit... if these are the people I'm attracting the organization I've dedicated my entire life to, what am I hanging on for?" and sloughed off to the garage to find a good place to die like an old cat.

  • Suddenly, coincidences exist?

  • The best pope yet. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Misagon ( 1135 ) on Monday April 21, 2025 @04:28AM (#65320037)

    I'm not Catholic, not even Christian, but I have only respect and reverence for this man.

    He made his last public appearance only yesterday, wishing a large audience a Happy Easter.
    "There can not be peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thoughts, freedom of speech and respect for other people's opinions". He urged for peace in Gaza and warned against increased antisemitism.

    It is rare these days to see a world leader stand up for freedom, equality and basic human rights, not just paying lip-service while having another motive. And that saddens me.

    • Re:The best pope yet. (Score:5, Informative)

      by MacMann ( 7518492 ) on Monday April 21, 2025 @04:56AM (#65320071)

      I'm not Catholic, not even Christian, but I have only respect and reverence for this man.

      I came to the comments here expecting the first posts to be people asking why anyone would care if the Pope died. I'm pleased to see otherwise.

      Maybe people don't need to have respect for the man but his death is still newsworthy. The Pope is a head of state, so his death should be as newsworthy as the death of any president, prime minister, "grand poobah", or whatever of any nation. The Vatican might be a nation about as big as your local city park, and have as many citizens as your local middle school has students, but what happens there has an influence on over a billion Catholics all over the world.

      It is rare these days to see a world leader stand up for freedom, equality and basic human rights, not just paying lip-service while having another motive. And that saddens me.

      I can't say I agreed with the man on every topic but he was clearly someone that spoke for human rights. We need people like him. While he didn't command a large military the office of the Pope carries weight in the world.

      • Former Catholic school student here. I'll keep my spirituality to myself and say only that I don't believe in organized religion, but some people seem to need an authority, and it's better if that is benign relative to current authoritarian leadership in various countries. Hope the next pope is as good or better, but to grow, that church really needs Vatican III, IMHO. It seems that some people don't have morality of their own, so the decline of religion has been detrimental to humanity in some ways. That c

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

          That church is not nearly as bad as it was even a few decades ago though. There is no justification for the abuses.

          Francis was just another protector of child molestation, because he's just another pope under which the Vatican refused to release its information on which molesters they relocated, and what molestation they know they engaged in. And you're right, there is no justification for the abuses.

          The Vatican sits on massive stolen wealth while preaching about caring for the poor, so even if it wasn't a conspiracy to molest children and protect the molesters, going so far as to relocate them to other places where the

          • I'm not certain that the pope controls policy for the entire church. I fear there may be enough evidence to bankrupt the church. Everyone defends their own interests. I don't know whether they're doing everything that they can to prevent or at least reduce abuses, but if they are not, that would be more important than the legacy abuses. I am not certain that/what financial compensation would be appropriate for the legacy abuses, but it would not punish the perpetrators anyway.

            • I'm not certain that the pope controls policy for the entire church.

              Catholics believe that the Pope is "God's Instrument on Earth" - so why would he not control policy for the entire church if God is speaking and acting through the Pope?

              • And for the same reason, why would he not have responsibility for what he presides over?

                • See previous response to your previous response. Do priests ask the pope for approval before they abuse? Or is the policy to abuse?
              • > why would he not control policy for the entire church

                Because it's a human power structure with some unknown quantity of humans in the hierarchy, not all of which ask the pope for approval before they make each decision. Defining policy and enforcing policy are different.

          • Just this week, a nearby catholic school "apologized" for sexually abusing children in past decades. The leadership had clearly hoped this would never become public. Now that it has, *now* they are sorry.

            An organization that abused countless children, in countless countries, over decades? Any other organization would have been disbanded as a criminal enterprise, and the leadership put on trial. If the church believed their own doctrines, they would have taken dramatic public action on their own.

            Pope Fra

        • Somewhat tangential, but I can recommend the book âoeReligion for Atheistsâ by Alain de Botton Itâ(TM)s a light read from a now-popular author.
          The tldr is that one of the roles religion also plays in a persons life is a sort of grounding, centering role. The various holidays , rituals, and gatherings provide guardrails, direction, foundation and some level of meaning. De Bottons thesis (imo) is that modern world has excised religion from core society, but not replaced it with anything that

          • Thanks, added to audio cue that I never find time to complete. And your handle...I did EDI 1996-2000. I miss those days, when systems were stable and predictable, before JavaScript really entered the chat. I wonder how that field is these days.

        • Former Catholic school student here. I'll keep my spirituality to myself and say only that I don't believe in organized religion, but some people seem to need an authority, and it's better if that is benign relative to current authoritarian leadership in various countries. Hope the next pope is as good or better, but to grow, that church really needs Vatican III, IMHO. It seems that some people don't have morality of their own, so the decline of religion has been detrimental to humanity in some ways. That church is not nearly as bad as it was even a few decades ago though. There is no justification for the abuses.

          Especially since priests are having a harder time finding little boys to have fun with.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tanek ( 876501 )

        I also was a bit pessimistic coming into the comments, fearing snarky remarks, but was also positively surprised. He abandoned much of the opulence other popes would make use of, like a penthouse apartment and a new Mercedes, instead living in guest accommodation, and driving an old Fiat. I'm not Catholic, barely even a Christian, but I have a lot of respect for the man, and what he wanted to do, in face of resistance from many of his cardinals.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by buanzo ( 542591 )
      He was Argentine, and was always at the center of political situations. He never visited his home again because he wanted to avoid his presence being used politically. His documentary on netflix is quite good.

    • Indeed, Pope Francis was an amazing human being and truly the "People's Pope" as the article mentions. Also, much respect for someone of his situation who would say "Who am I to judge?"
      https://www.ncronline.org/fran... [ncronline.org]
      "Asked whether there is an opposition between truth and mercy, or doctrine and mercy, the pontiff responds: "I will say this: mercy is real; it is the first attribute of God." "Theological reflections on doctrine or mercy may then follow, but let us not forget that mercy is doctrine," says th

      • Indeed, Pope Francis was an amazing human being and truly the "People's Pope" as the article mentions.

        If by "amazing" you actually mean a thoroughly vile person, and if you define "People" in "People's Pope" as "child-molesting priests", then yes: he was an amazing person. Those of us who saw the human carnage caused by the Defender of the Pedophile Priests might have a slightly different opinion.

        • Related to your point, from: https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]
          "Perhaps the most persistent controversy of his papacy was his handling of the Church's long-standing sexual abuse crisis. While Francis took steps to hold bishops accountable and created new commissions to investigate abuse, many survivors and advocates said the response remained inadequate. In 2018, his initial defence of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse caused international uproar; he later apologised and admitted he had made seri

    • Totally agree. It was truly amazing he made his last appearance on Easter and passed the next day. Quite the symbolism. I too am non-religious but I respected this guy. He at least was more like Jesus than most of his predecessors. I think he will be hard to replace. If I remember right it was an odd set of circumstances that got him elected with Benedict retiring.

      Leaders tend to be sociopathic in order to rise. True in politics of all flavors including churches. I grew up in a church with some major polit

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ranton ( 36917 )

      And I hope the next Pope is even better than Pope Francis. Each generation should hopefully be becoming more progressive than the last, leading to a more moral and inclusive Pope each time they are replaced.

    • I'm not Catholic, not even Christian, but I have only respect and reverence for this man.

      He made his last public appearance only yesterday, wishing a large audience a Happy Easter. "There can not be peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thoughts, freedom of speech and respect for other people's opinions". He urged for peace in Gaza and warned against increased antisemitism.

      It is rare these days to see a world leader stand up for freedom, equality and basic human rights, not just paying lip-service while having another motive. And that saddens me.

      But the Catholic Church still has that little problem with little boys.

      Leaving the Roman Catholic kiddie diddler cult is something I haven't regretted a second.

      Now granted, I did have a cousin whoes priest educated in the holy sacrament of anal sex when he was an altar boy. But don't worry - it all worked out just fine. When he was 20, he committed suicide, while the priest was quietly moved to another diocese, where there is plenty of fresh young boys to analyze.

      I piss people off when I say this,

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by znrt ( 2424692 )

      I'm not Catholic, not even Christian, but I have only respect and reverence for this man.

      He made his last public appearance only yesterday, wishing a large audience a Happy Easter.
      "There can not be peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thoughts, freedom of speech and respect for other people's opinions". He urged for peace in Gaza and warned against increased antisemitism.

      i am officially still a catholic. he was chosen because a soft and progressive figure was deemed necessary for the apparently dwindling popular support of the "happiness in your next life" corporation, specially after his predecessor, a really backwards and hardcore fundamentalist who was making matters worse by the day. it was a smart move which isn't really new, the catholic church has been steadily tailoring the discourse to be more friendly, not to mention rewriting the gospel for centuries, to keep up

    • I'm not Catholic, not even Christian, but I have only respect and reverence for this man

      Francis was a good man who was trapped in a horrible organization.

  • I don't know of any other position as that of a president of a fantasy book club that has so much influence.

  • Unfortunate loss (Score:3)

    by divide overflow ( 599608 ) on Monday April 21, 2025 @04:52AM (#65320069)
    He seemed to be a very decent person and certainly one of the better popes.

  • Guess it wasn't that important.

  • Oh no! (Score:2)

    by Phaid ( 938 )
    Anyway...
  • I am a cradle catholic. The church of my childhood in the 70's was trending towards a more affirming and accepting church on the heels of Vatican II. I hope the college of cardinals continues that trend with their next selection. They must force the 'return to the Latin mass' rightwing nutjobs or they will face empty pews and empty collection plates in the years ahead of us.
    • I meant to say they must force the 'return to the Latin mass' rightwing nutjobs TO THE SIDELINES! I should proofread my posts. JD Vance, Mel Gibson, and others count themselves as wanting the authoritarian return to the Latin mass, where the congregation doesn't even know what is going.

  • So, who will they elect as the next Pedophile-in-Chief?

  • Story is almost off the front page but the story is still breaking. Just revealed that the Pope died from a stroke. I thought it was sort of funny about Vance being one of the final visitors, but maybe he actually did cause the Pope to die? The dark joke stopped being funny already?

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