The Pope is Dead but Not for Long

Tying world masses into unified beliefs

So, I’m sitting here trying to write about our Good Trouble demonstration in the center of Florence that took place on Saturday, April 19th, when a message pops up this morning, two days later, that the Pope is dead.

It’s hard to believe, even though he’s been sick for the past month, that Papa Francesco is gone. He definitely was the People’s Pope, a title especially important for today’s burning global crises, touching the weaker less fortunate side of humanity in every sense. He never said the word “Trump” in his speeches; it was the Pope’s way of speaking diplomatically, indirectly towards the tyrant in the White House, on topics regarding peace, social justice, equality, the problem with divisiveness and hatred towards immigrants (saying “immigrants are not a threat but an opportunity for growth”). He often spoke in favor of a “green revolution” while highlighting the importance of addressing climate change. All the while never mentioning Trump or the U.S. directly, although we all knew whom he was referring to along with other dictators in other countries who needed to listen to his words as well.

I can’t help but think how sickening that photo is of Vance speaking to the Pope in the last days of his life (I won’t attach it here, it turns my stomach). The “baby Catholic” (as Vance called himself) had the audacity to steal some of the Pope’s precious last minutes of life. I hope Pope Francis put a spell on him, a curse of some sort, gave him a strong message to take back to his dear leader, the devil incarnate himself. There’s that photo of Vance taking the Pope’s hand… I can’t get it out of my head. Rather than thinking Vance transmitted some sort of poison into Francis, I’m looking at it the other way around — that the Pope gave him a good harsh lesson, left a stigma on his soul.

So the Pope is dead and all I want to do is tie this huge event together with what I was writing about before the message popped up. There’s a connection somehow. We’re seeing tens of thousands of people lining the streets to protest in all the major cities in the U.S., both on April 5th and also on April 19^th to show dissent for the current administration (photo below of NYC),

while the next day tens of thousands of worshippers crammed into St.Peter’s square (photo below) to hear the Pope give his Easter blessing on the last day of his life.

I can’t help think that Francis surely saw the movement going on in the U.S. and blessed every single person putting their individual drop in the ocean of protesters. Listening to Italian radio and t.v. stations today, hearing the Pope’s past words on all the major world issues relating to the political madness in the U.S., I realize the Pope’s concerns will resonate even louder now that he is gone.

I feel reassured thinking about this as a U.S. citizen living in Italy, getting our own little protest going in Piazza Santa Maria Novella in Florence:

What started as a small group chat on Whatsapp, it began turning into a larger more animated group following the U.S. movement. Our first protest took place in Piazza Signoria on April 5^th with about 20 people, mostly white-haired American women who had been activists in the past both in the U.S. and abroad. We invited more people to join the chat and felt more organized for the April 19^th demonstration, with volunteers making signs, writing articles, helping with any little detail they could, and just simply spreading the word. When we arrived in the square on Saturday afternoon, Florence’s main local papers were there along with cameras from independent news stations and over 100 people, both young and old, Italians and Americans, all willing to hold up signs and join in on the chants. Of course being in Florence, tourists from all corners of the earth walked through the square where some eventually joined us once they realized what all the commotion was about.

So where is all this grouping together going to lead us? Something is happening beyond anything we can foresee or imagine. I mean, the Pope was used to having St.Peter’s packed with people who believe in his words and power, but we, the people, especially in the U.S., haven’t had this many people gathering across fifty states and around the world for a unified belief in a long time, if ever. We are uniting to spread the word, to take back our country, our freedom, human rights and peace to make sure further damage isn’t done. In various occasions Pope Francis gave extensive criticism on authoritarianism and the erosion of democratic values that connected directly to how millions of Americans and people around the world have been feeling.

In the meantime, Rome will be having the next demonstration on May 3 where I’m sure much of Papa Francesco’s karma will resonate for the occasion. A real saint has died today, but his words will rise in days to come.