By Chief Charles A. Taku*
The transition of Pope Francis today 21 April 2025, at a moment when the world is fully emersed in the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for our Salvation, carries significant symbolic weight. The Angel of the Lord proclaimed the good news of the resurrection by asking, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” Luke 24: 5-6.
The celebration of Easter, this year came at a time of an emerging new world order embedded in atrocious wars of self-destruction and greed in which human life has simply lost its value. It came at a time in which the world is confronted with stark choices laid out in the Biblical all directly linked to the Lord and central to His ministry: Beatitudes Matthew 5:2-12 and Satanic Temptation of Jesus Luke 4:1-13.
Pope Francis who is on the salvific train of resurrection to the heavenly paradise as I write, lived by the Beatitudes and proclaimed it as a credo or an article of faith of our spiritual and collective humanity and salvation.
The Satanic temptation bait is a central goal of the emerging new world order which is eviscerating the rules-based world, obliterating diversity, enabling the accumulation of material wealth, tearing down the moral compass of humanity and building a human empire premised on the satanic temptation.
The transition of Pope Francis, a faithful servant of God who placed the Beatitude at the center of his papacy, who kissed the feet of belligerent warlords for peace, who invited the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, the rejected and persecuted to his table, who tirelessly preached the gospel of justice and peace, who pursued justice for victims of sexual abuse within the Church, investigated and prosecuted financial crimes within the Church is a significant testament of his fulfilled service to humanity in the vine yard of the Lord.
He called for merciful reconsideration of harsh and inhuman immigration and refugee policies, an end to the objectification of human values, the reckless destruction of the environment and the destructive use of technology. He reformed the Church in the face of doctrinal orthodoxy which was impervious to new world trends and changes.
He recognized and elevated the role of women in the Church. In a world afflicted by cultural, social and economic wars, he rightly told the Church not to shy away from these challenges but to bring biblical solutions to all world challenges without endorsing values which are contrary to the gospel and mission of the Church.
He was a missionary of truth and spoke the truth. He acknowledged the humanity of all who come to the Lord without discrimination and preached that this was not inconsistent with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, who healed all ailments and cast out demons from all and sundry without endorsing the evil that brought about those conditions.
The transition of Pope Francis, has refocused the world on the fundamental mission of humanity, the universality of human values, of justice and peace, and indeed, a need to stop the carnage, the satanic greed and to give humanity its right to life, its dignity, its fundamental freedoms and indeed, to bring humanity back to God and to the blessings and promise of salvation which the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ brought to mankind.
World leaders who failed to heed to his relentless appeals for fair economic policies, justice and peace, end to atrocious wars, the universality of our shared humanity, respect for diversity and equity, environment justice and fair, human immigration policies, will undoubtedly write tributes praising him for espousing these values which they rejected.
They will intensify the bombardment of civilian settlements, destruction of the environment, hoard and deport more human-cargo immigrants without due process, ignore international rule of law, legitimize racism, enforce unfair economic policies, impose and enforce discriminatory and unjust sanctions, eviscerate democratic foundations of human society and plant evangelical seeds of prejudice among vulnerable persons in need.
This will be dishonorable and hypocritical. However, the lessons of life and the promise of life which the life and times of this humble prelate lived will help many to realize the Beatitudes which the Lord himself ordained as the salvific access test to eternal life.
*Chief Charles Taku is a lawyer, social critic, public affairs analyst, prolific writer, human rights crusader, staunch Christian of the Catholic Church and philanthropist.
