{"id":294318,"date":"2025-04-28T12:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=294318"},"modified":"2025-04-28T07:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T06:32:55","slug":"message-of-condolences-on-passing-on-of-his-holiness-pope-franics-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/04\/message-of-condolences-on-passing-on-of-his-holiness-pope-franics-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Message of Condolences on Passing on of His Holiness Pope Francis I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dear Friends and Colleagues,<\/p>\n

21 Apr 2025 –<\/em> On this solemn Easter Monday, we join you in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis\u2014a shepherd of the marginalized, a bridge-builder between faiths, and a prophetic voice for our times. His papacy was a living testament to mercy, humility, and radical love. The sad demise is also a time in the mess<\/a>age by honoring Pope Francis\u2019 transformative papacy. We also need to acknowledge and reflect of His Holiness\u2019s legacy, the key aspects of which includes: Social Justice: Prioritized the poor, migrants, and prisoners (e.g., washing the feet of inmates). Ecumenism & Interfaith Dialogue: Strengthened ties with Muslims, Jews, and Orthodox Christians. Environmental Stewardship: Laudato Si\u2019 <\/em>(2015)\u2014a groundbreaking encyclical on ecology. Church Reform: Decentralized Vatican authority, addressed financial corruption, and prioritized accountability. Mercy Over Dogma: Declared “Who am I to judge?” regarding LGBTQ+ individuals, and expanded sacramental access.<\/p>\n

We must<\/a> remember his tireless advocacy for the poor, his embrace of refugees, and his calls to pro<\/a>tect our common home (Laudato Si\u2019<\/em>). He challenged injustice with quiet courage, reformed the Church\u2019s governance with transparency, and reached across divides, whether to the Islamic world, the Orthodox Church, or those wounded by institutional failings. Above all, he embodied Christ\u2019s compassion, reminding us that “God never tires of forgiving; it is we who tire of asking.”<\/p>\n

As you reflect on his legacy during this sacred Easter season, may the hope of the Resurrection comfort you, and may his vision of a Church “that is poor and for the poor” continue to inspire us all. We pray that may you find comfort in the resurrection hope of\u00a0Easter and in the knowledge that His Holiness\u2019s spirit lives on in the hearts of all whom he inspired. Our deepest condolences go out to the entire Catholic community.<\/p>\n

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Let us learn to live with kindness, to love everyone, even our enemies.” (Pope Francis)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

With deepest condolences and solidarity, Hoosen Vawda, Durban, South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

21 Apr 2025 – On this solemn Easter Monday, we join you in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis\u2014a shepherd of the marginalized, a bridge-builder between faiths, and a prophetic voice for our times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":294319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1670],"class_list":["post-294318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members","tag-pope-francis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294318"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294322,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294318\/revisions\/294322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}