Pope Francis death: Tampa Bay area Catholics react

Tributes for the Holy Father have poured in from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and many Catholic leaders in the Bay Area are remembering Pope Francis after his passing was announced early Monday morning.

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[brucemattes]

*I keep coming back to the long-term fact that NO Pope, and especially NOT Pope Francis, * has been willing to confront the existential crisis that has been staring the entire Roman Catholic Church in the face for hundreds of years, said crisis which has become astonishingly acute over the past 50 years.

Which has been that there has been an overwhelming large percentage of Catholic priests, deacons, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals who have egregiously abused the power of their office, defiled their holy vows, and besmirched the sacrements to which they are supposed to adhere because they have been guilty of pedophilia. There are thousands of these men scattered around the planet whose crimes have been covered up by the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy and for whom society has not been able to impose its laws and justice through the courts because of widespread Roman Catholic Church interference, bribes, political blackmail, and a willingness to transfer guilty clerics out of one jurisdiction into another, and from one country into another as a means of avoiding the inevitable bad publicity that an arrest, prosecution, trial, and conviction would entail.

[janetl]

We are called to pray for persons filled with hate, like those making nasty comments here. May the Holy Spirit move their hearts and souls toward compassion.

[geneseetrainselevators]

I was raised Catholic, and while I don’t really practice much anymore, I was blessed to use the name Francis for my confirmation name and I was very impressed by him. ❤ RIP sir, thank you for all you did.

[thelymewarrior]

Not even catholic and this news brought me to tears.

[NiNi-nqip]

Heart braking news. I m not Catholic but his kind and Marcy is incredible and he’s a great religious leader.

[inkblooded]

I've never been a very religious man. Science and logic have always ruled my heart and while I believe in faith, I don't believe that mankind could ever truly understand the divine.

That being said.

Pope Francis was a very wonderful person, a great pope, and a fantastic human being. I may not be Catholic, but I still will offer a prayer for him, for what it's worth. The world is worse off without him. He understood that to force religion onto another was antithetical to the very idea of religion itself. Faith cannot be forced; it must be accepted willingly, and that only through kindness, benevolence, and understanding could the door to mutual understanding be opened. He chose to believe that the heart is the most sacred temple of all.

[Lindai-ir]

I’m a Baptist but I was taught not to condemn other religions most of us believe in different teachings and it’s wrong to hate and pass judgement.🙏🏻

[js]

I was not a huge fan, but to the people that are condemning him to hell, be careful…despite his mistakes, he lived a life far more Godly and charitable than most of us on here…if he isn’t accepted into Heaven, where does that leave the rest of us?

Again…be careful and leave judgement to God

[yuripetrovic]

Rest in peace, Holy Father.

And please, tell my father if you see him that I miss him.

[joe]

Pope Francis was a good pope and religious leader. May God rest his soul. I'm sure people noted that he passed on Easter. If that's not a sign from heaven, I don't know what is.

[fgh]

What a great a human. I had no idea about some of those facts of his life!

[brandonharris]

This guy is a man who really tried to make the world a better place. Huge respect to Pope Francis. We need more people like him if we want to make the world better. Rest in peace to a man who took a hugely positive inspiration from Christ

[mreverstrucked]

Jesus Christ Loves You, I don't think catholicism is the truth, but I will never hate these people, only love and prayer. Jesus Christ Loves You ❤️ ✝️

[change]

He didn't like self important evil people who put themselves and their hate over God's teachings. He will be missed as a humanitarian and he served the people well. God bless Pope Francis.

[jamellfoster]

RIP Pope Francis. I'm Protestant (Presbyterian) but Pope Francis was a very positive breath of fresh air to the world 🌎🌍🌎🌍 . Prayers 🙏🕊️🙏🕊️for the Catholic Church and the world 🌎🌍🌎🌍 overall.

[leannetwigg]

I'm not Catholic, but as a person, I feel their pain and lost. Prayers for the family, his church, and for him. RIP kind sir.

[Sandra-cgm]

People think a Pope is God???? Nope don't worship anyone but Jesus

[GreenBerry-yl]

😢 The one who was sympathetic towards people in gaza rip pope Francis

[Forestventures]

The ONLY one that is Holy and the head of the church is Jesus Christ. Unfortunately the pope missed his opportunity to talk about Repentance and condoned these that are against God. And never held the priest accountable for molesting children!!!

[JamesAlspaugh]

I SAT THE WHOLE DAY AND WATCHED HIM BEING VOTED IN ..HE DID A GREAT JOB AS POPE IN THIS BIZZARE TIME ..MAY HE REST IN PEACE ❤