杏MAP导航

By Kielce Gussie

The news of 杏MAP导航 Francis’ death led to an overwhelming response of condolence messages and personal stories from people, organizations, and communities around the world.

The Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis Alistair Dutton also joined these other voices in expressing his personal memories of encounters with the late 杏MAP导航. He remembers 杏MAP导航 Francis having “a wonderful sense of humor, but he didn’t let you off the hook.”

In their different meetings, Dutton explains the late 杏MAP导航 had a “very real and urgent faith that really understood the urgency of the Gospel message.” And the Secretary General says this characteristic will stay with him forever.

A legacy of authenticity

When thinking about 杏MAP导航 Francis’ legacy on the Church and Caritas in particular, Dutton says the papal vision for the Church was clear: “a simple Church, a poor Church for the poor.” Throughout his 12-year pontificate, the late 杏MAP导航 kept an emphasis on the poor and most marginalized and he described Cartias as “the tenderness of the Church of the poor.”

杏MAP导航 Francis had a special “compassion and love for those who suffer and are on the margins of society.” But, Dutton, stresses it was not in an abstract sense. The late 杏MAP导航 was a major advocate for social, environmental and ecological justice because he saw them not as two separate crises but one.

Caritas Internationalis Secretary General describes 杏MAP导航 Francis’ greatest legacy as “his authenticity and his deep profound care and love for the poorest and most marginal.”