Almost biblical in its timing, Francis' funeral falls under the same shadow as his papacy
Rome: As the world teeters under the weight of war, displacement and disillusionment, the death of Pope Francis this week was not just a religious milestone but a moment that seems almost biblical in its timing.
On Saturday, in St Peter's Square, an extraordinary gathering will unfold – one of the most historically charged funerals in living memory. World leaders, adversaries and allies alike will sit shoulder to shoulder to mourn the death of a pope who, for over a decade, sought to reconcile the irreconcilable.
Among them, US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and dignitaries representing both war rooms and refugee camps. Their presence is a potent final symbol of Francis's legacy: a man who often failed to say enough, but who tried – sometimes quietly, sometimes stubbornly – to act.
While the late pontiff, who died aged 88 on Easter Monday, has been remembered as a champion of the poor, of climate change and of inclusion, his papacy unfolded under the long, grim shadow of conflict – particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which erupted into full-scale violence nine years into his reign. From the beginning, his response was both bold and baffling.
On February 25, 2022, just one day after Russian forces rolled into Ukraine, Francis made an unannounced visit to the Russian embassy in Rome. Breaking with Vatican diplomatic protocol, he went in person to express concern and call for peace. The gesture was unprecedented, but it also raised questions. He didn't name Russian President Vladimir Putin. He didn't outright condemn the invasion. The ambiguity would come to define his response.
By May, that ambiguity turned into controversy. Francis suggested NATO's expansion might have 'provoked' the Kremlin – remarks that seemed to echo Russian talking points. When asked about the morality of supplying Ukraine with weapons, he dodged, criticising the global arms trade but declining to speak directly on the matter. Many in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe were outraged. They wanted clarity. What they got was caution.
That caution, however frustrating, was deeply rooted in history.
'He was on the right side of history,' Professor Cyril Hovorun, a Ukrainian Orthodox theologian and former adviser to the Moscow Patriarchate, said this week.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


West Australian
17 minutes ago
- West Australian
Protests at US Army parade will be met with force
US President Donald Trump has warned against protesting at the weekend military parade in Washington marking the US Army's 250th anniversary. "For those people that want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force," Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office on Tuesday after making a speech at Fort Bragg to mark the army anniversary. Law enforcement agencies are preparing for hundreds of thousands of people to attend Saturday's parade, US Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool said on Monday. McCool said thousands of agents, officers and specialists will be deployed from law enforcement agencies from across the country. The FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department have said there are no credible threats to the event. At least nine permits have been issued for protests on that day, a US Secret Service spokesperson said on Tuesday. In unscheduled Oval Office remarks, Trump discussed his decision to deploy 4000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles after protests erupted in response to federal immigration raids at workplaces there. Trump defended his decision to take that rare step and said troops were necessary to contain the unrest, despite objections from local and state officials that they were needed. Saturday's event, which will coincide with Trump's 79th birthday, includes an Army birthday festival on the National Mall and will culminate with a parade through the capital and an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony presided over by the president. Nationwide protests on that day were being organised by a group called No Kings. "They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights and slashed our services," the group says on its website. "The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings."

Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
‘Nothing burger': Trump defended after lefties compare his Air Force One stumble to Biden's
Sky News contributor Kristin Tate has commented on lefties comparing Donald Trump's stumble up the steps of Air Force One to Joe Biden's trip up the same stairs. 'This is complete nonsense,' she told Sky News host Chris Kenny. 'Yeah, he tripped, ok? We all trip once in a while. 'This is a nothing burger.'

Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
PM will want to have Trump G7 meeting ‘behind closed doors'
Sky News political contributor Chris Uhlmann discusses the possibility of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the G7 summit. 'Anthony Albanese does not want to be caught in a circumstance where he is in an open-ended conversation, in front of an open mic with Donald Trump, because it could go anywhere,' Mr Uhlmann told Sky News Australia. 'I would be saying I want a picture opportunity, but I want all our conversation to be behind closed doors.'