{"id":48539,"date":"2025-04-24T12:27:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=48539"},"modified":"2025-04-24T12:41:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:41:12","slug":"remembering-pope-francis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=48539","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Pope Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pope Francis<\/strong> has passed and the world has lost a profoundly courageous voice\u2014a shepherd who dared to speak uncomfortable truths in a noisy and often indifferent age.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Pope Francis<\/strong>, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was not just the first pope from the Americas or the first Jesuit pope\u2014he was the first in a long time to make the world stop and listen to the cry of the poor, the cry of the Earth, the murmur of the migrant, the whisper of the suffering. He disarmed with simplicity and challenged with radical love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world drunk on the gospel of wealth, he reminded us of the Gospel of poverty. He saw capitalism not as a neutral mechanism, but as something with a soul\u2014and warned that that soul had become sick. \u201cThis economy kills,\u201d he said plainly. And in those three words, he put the full weight of the Vatican behind the idea that inequality and greed are not just flaws\u2014they are sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He washed the feet of prisoners, kissed the faces of the disfigured, and refused to live in the papal palace, choosing instead a humble guesthouse. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

That wasn’t theater\u2014it was theology. It was the Sermon on the Mount in a modern age. It was a radical renunciation of worldly pomp in favor of divine presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dung of Satan \/ Stercus Diaboli<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Pope Francis<\/strong> referred to the “unfettered pursuit of money” as “the dung of the devil.”<\/em> He made this remark during a speech in Bolivia in July 2015, quoting the 4th-century Church Father Basil of Caesarea<\/strong>. In this address, he criticized economic systems that prioritize profit over people and the environment, stating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“An unfettered pursuit of money rules. That is the dung of the devil.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This statement underscored his broader critique of economic models that lead to exclusion, inequality, and environmental degradation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Francis’s use of vivid language served to highlight the moral and spiritual dangers of placing money above human dignity and ecological responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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His teachings consistently emphasized the need for economic systems that serve the common good, protect the vulnerable, and respect the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This perspective was a hallmark of his papacy, reflecting his commitment to social justice and care for creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this fiery and passionate speech, he was echoing a prophetic tradition\u2014calling out the spiritual danger of idolatry, especially the worship of wealth. It was part of his broader critique of economic systems that exclude, exploit, and discard.