In September of 1991, after three operations, two months of radiation therapy, six months of chemotherapy, and having developed pneumonia, all of my bodily functions were shutting down and my family members and friends had very little hope that I would win my battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. As a result of that experience, you would think that I, more than most people, would be sensitive to what has been reported in the media about Pope Francis’ medical condition.
Christians who believe in life after death also believe that we will be judged by God for the way we lived our lives on this Earth. Even though a person can have a conversion experience and repent later in life for wrongs he or she may have committed earlier, many people believe we die the way we live. If one really believes in “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting,” then one would not want someone to die without being in “the state of grace.” Judging by the comments I read online from people who write that they are praying for the Pope to recover, I’m surprised that they only seem concerned for his physical health. If people really believe in life after death and divine judgment, would they not be worried that the Pope does not seem to have repented of the sexual abuse he is alleged to have committed and covered up in his life? Hence, unlike many others, I am praying that the Pope dies repentant more than he merely lives a little longer.
One reason I believe many people seem more concerned for the Pope’s physical health than his spiritual health is that the mainstream and Catholic media have done a good job at hiding wrongdoing he and several bishops are guilty of having done in their lives. As a sex abuse victims’ advocate and investigator, I received a report around five years ago from an Hispanic young man alleging that he was sexually abused as a 16-year-old high school seminarian by current Omaha Archbishop George Lucas at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in St. Louis. It was not until July 2024 that the alleged victim brought suit against Lucas alleging that he and another student were coerced into performing sex acts on Lucas in return for better grades. It often takes years before abuse victims get up enough courage to confront their abuser.
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