Pope Francis asked me what keeps me up at night. This is what I learned from him.

Washington Post

28-04-2025

The world has lost its most authentic leader and its moral voice. Pope Francis brought clarity to religious leaders: He chose to address poverty, he pursued reconciliation in the church, and he believed in inclusion and compassion. He reminded the world that we are part of one human family and we should love and care for each other and safeguard our planet for future generations.
I had the pleasure of meeting Francis in Abu Dhabi on his historic visit there in 2019.
There, he signed the Document for Human Fraternity with the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, in an event that brought East and West together in an unprecedented manner. Shortly afterward, he appointed a group of religious and secular leaders to put the intentions expressed in the document into practice, and created the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity. I was honored and humbled to be appointed by Francis to this group of leaders.
As a result of my appointment, Francis invited me to the Vatican. I flew to Rome during the days between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday in Judaism.
It was quite the experience to have a private audience with the pope.
I began to tell him: 'I am Rabbi Lustig, the child of a Holocaust survivor. I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee.' Francis interrupted and said, 'Bruce, may I call you that, I know who you are, you would not be here if I did not know. Now, tell me, what keeps you up at night?'
I said 'hate speech,' and for the next hour, we came up with strategies to end hate speech. He listened to me, challenged my views and agreed with me that God spoke the world into being, so speech has the power to create or destroy worlds.
I left our audience with a critical lesson learned at the feet of an important teacher. There is only one voice that matters in the end: your own.
Francis has journeyed home to be with God, but he has left us his moral voice. It is our responsibility to use that voice to speak out for truth, justice and compassion.
That is how we should honor Francis. That is how a moral voice will not be lost.
M. Bruce Lustig, Washington
The writer is rabbi emeritus of the Washington Hebrew Congregation.
The April 22 editorial, 'Pope Francis pulled the church into the 21st century,' was outstanding. It pointed out that Francis 'made the church decidedly more global, modern and inclusive.' It also noted that he didn't condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine, he didn't allow women to be ordained as priests, and he permitted bishops and others complicit in clergy sexual abuse cover-ups to escape accountability.
To me, the most illuminating thing about Francis's papacy was his statement regarding a purportedly gay priest: 'Who am I to judge?' That showed a humility completely unexpected from the powerful leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics across the globe.
The world would be a much better place if some of its political leaders had a bit of that humility.
Vic Presutti, Dayton, Ohio
Regarding the April 21 front-page article 'Vance meets pope in private Vatican visit':
On the last full day of his life, Pope Francis took the time to meet with Vice President JD Vance. The difference in the figures is striking. Vance has been an attack dog for the Trump administration, advocating a message of exclusion and an aggressive deportation agenda. Francis, in contrast, was a humble man who preached peace, love and tolerance.
The pope had rebuked the Trump administration's immigration policy, which Vance justified as aligned with 'ordo amoris,' a medieval Catholic concept that refers to the order of charity. Vance posted on X that the concept is 'basic common sense' because one's moral duties to one's children outweigh those 'to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away.'
Washington is ruled by the rich and powerful, but money and power cannot buy entry into heaven. I pray the humility and love espoused by Francis earn him that reward.
Diane B. Norton, Fairfax
The April 12 front-page article 'A more combative Catholic' explained how Vice President JD Vance tries to justify mass deportations, despite Pope Francis's insistence that the church stand up for the rights of the poor, the suffering, the stranger and the dispossessed — many of whom are immigrants.
Vance, along with many Catholic converts among the MAGA right, cites an 'old-school,' 'very Christian concept' according to which Christians should love those they are closest to more than those who are farther away.
Vance seems ignorant of the pernicious origins and history of this idea, which gained popularity among Catholics in tandem with rising nationalism and 'scientific' racism, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
As quoted in 'From Enemy to Brother' by historian John Connelly, Cardinal Justinian Seredi, leader of the Hungarian church from 1927 to 1945, claimed, 'We must love better those who are nearest to us than those to whom more distant ties bind us: family, nation, religious, etc.'
This belief, which eclipsed any notion of the Good Samaritan, underlay the collaboration of Catholics in Germany, Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia with fascists, as well as participation, in some cases, in the Holocaust. After the Second World War, particularly as a result of Vatican II, the church rejected this false doctrine as inhumane and un-Christian.
One of the most astonishing things about Christianity is that it posits that each and every human being has a soul and enjoys God's grace. When asked which of the commandments was the most important, Christ answered: to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. And note that 'neighbor' does not mean literal neighbor but other human beings.
The Trump administration's policies, including mass deportations, do not represent conservatism or Christian doctrine.
Dolores Augustine, Roslyn Heights, New York
The writer is professor emerita of history at St. John's University.
Sadly, there are Christians who believe that Pope Francis, regardless of his good works, is not destined for heaven because of his Roman Catholicism and liberalism.
If God really is as vengeful as some Christians portray Him to be, is anyone — including His supposed ardent followers — truly able to be 'saved'? One could reasonably theorize that He would be especially peeved by those self-professed Christians. He might even deem them frauds.
After all, Jesus' teachings are about nonviolence, compassion and love. They also epitomize the primary tenet of socialism: Do not hoard gratuitous wealth in the midst of great poverty. Yet those teachings are not practiced by many so-called Christians, including those who idolize callous politicians who stand for very little or nothing Jesus taught and represents.
Frank Sterle Jr., White Rock, British Columbia
Pope Francis has been called 'the pope of the people.' All-inclusive. Champion of the marginalized.
Call me when women are allowed to become priests.
Kimberly Bayer, Silver Spring
Regarding the April 23 news article 'Francis's legacy contingent on unpredictable election of his successor':
Each of us can follow the example of Pope Francis and be an advocate for feeding the hungry. The pope rallied support for the U.N. World Food Program and other humanitarian agencies. He tried to bring attention to the forgotten conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, where people are facing acute food insecurity.
And, more recently, the Vatican's charity called the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development 'reckless.' Instead of making cuts to USAID and letting food destined for the hungry rot, we should be increasing humanitarian aid, given the number of war and hunger emergencies taking place worldwide. Ordinary Americans can make that happen by being a powerful voice for the hungry and poor like Francis was.
In 1943, Catholic Relief Services was founded by the Catholic bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors. Churches gathered donations to feed the hungry in postwar Europe and Asia. A similar nationwide relief drive today would be a great way to honor Francis and save the lives of poor and hungry war victims worldwide.
William Lambers, Cincinnati
The writer partnered with the U.N. World Food Program to write the book 'Ending World Hunger.'