Pope Francis’s death hits different, especially for a lot of Gen Z Catholics who have a complicated relationship with the Church.
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By now, you’ve probably heard of Pope Francis who, after a few months of battling various illnesses, passed away on Easter Monday, April 21 from a stroke and heart failure at 88 years old. It’s the kind of news that can stop you in your tracks and, depending on your proximity to your faith, can even leave you shattered.
For me, the news has left me conflicted. I was born and raised a Catholic yet I slowly distanced myself from the Church as I got older. But I understand, and quite a few Gen Z Filipinos can agree, that Pope Francis made strides to bring the Church into the 21st century and, more importantly, give young Filipino Catholics a reason not to abandon their faith.
RELIGION IN A GEN Z SPACE
Religion has always been a… touchy subject for me. Growing up, I participated in all the practices my Catholic faith asked of me. I spent all my academic life going to a university that incorporated secular lessons as much as it did principles rooted in religious teachings. To this day, I still attend mass weekly, though I often say prayers and responses blankly like something I’ve memorized from my years going to Church. Yet, as I got older, I found myself being less engaged with my Catholic faith and especially the Church as an institution.
This is mainly because I think the Church, especially in the Philippines, is too conservative and judgemental. The Church as an institution is too embedded into aspects of society I believe they shouldn’t be in. There are quite a few Catholics who are also quick to judge people based on their religion alone.
Many of the beliefs and advocacies I support are what the Church stands against, and I will bet good money many young Filipinos feel the same way. I don’t see a point in giving myself to an institution that goes against many things I believe in. This is no shade to other young people who practice their faith and serve in the Church, but I just see things differently.
When some of the things you value deeply go into conflict with your religion, it causes friction. And that’s something I believe Pope Francis tried to fix during his 12 years as pope. Did he succeed in everything he set out to do? No, but I can recognize an effort to make the Church a much more inclusive and accepting place.
A POPE FOR THE PEOPLE
“who am i to judge?” — his first controversial line.
— Aya Fernandez (@ayafernandez_) April 21, 2025
pope francis made an effort to lead with compassion and progressive belief, despite backlash and opposition. rest in peace, pope francis. what a very sad day, we’ve lost a great leader.
Ever since Pope Francis became the leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, he has used his position to bring the Church into the 21st century and make it a religion driven more by progressive and inclusive values than one rooted in judgment and exclusion. All this to say, Pope Francis aimed for a Church for the people.
Among other things, he frequently talked about the importance of social justice, cared for the environment, was an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community in a way no Pope ever was, spoke of the injustices of economic inequality, and tried to fix the rampant sex abuses in the Church. Pope Francis also shunned the pomp, luxury, and privilege the position was usually associated with to be closer to the people, which is a Church Jesus probably wanted in the first place TBH.
Pope Francis was the only Church leader who dared to defy: To recognize LGBTQIA+ rights, to speak out against Israel's genocide in Palestine, to snub JD Vance and put him in his place, to denounce human rights abuses elsewhere, to fight for climate and environment. Rest in power.
— karl 🇵🇸 #MarcosMamamatayTao (@eicvsfascism) April 21, 2025
And let’s not forget how Pope Francis was vocal in his support of the Palestinian people and advocated for peace in Gaza until his last day on this planet. Pope Francis’ era will be remembered as one rooted in compassion, mercy, inclusivity, and progress, traits that arguably many Catholics have forgotten these days. The Church under Pope Francis saw the world as it was and not how the Church wanted to see it.
BEING CATHOLIC MEANT SOMETHING
These moves naturally made Pope Francis a lot of enemies. But for me, I saw a Church that actually looked like a place where I felt I belonged. I wasn’t just going to mass just because it was routine or do an obligation, but for something deeper. With Pope Francis, many young people saw the Catholic Church as a place that had a purpose in their lives. Pope Francis may have not fully untangled the complicated web of religion, but through his words, deeds, and actions, he did give young Catholics a potential way to understand and come to terms with what their Catholic faith meant to them.
Even for young Filipinos who are infrequent or don’t practice, their Catholic faith serves a purpose in the modern world, one they could go to for spiritual guidance and reflection without subscribing to harmful and restrictive ideals.
The number of people (esp young people) now saying they returned or stayed Catholic because of Pope Francis—his haters will never get it. The Pope knew that the Church would atrophy if it did not open its doors, that the Church was a living, breathing, even evolving thing.
— Regine Cabato (@RegineCabato) April 21, 2025
Of course, the Church is still far from perfect and the socio-political issues Pope Francis spoke up on didn’t always end up in success. I still feel uncomfortable seeing how religion is used in this country as a basis to deny what should be basic things from happening in the Philippines (*cough* divorce in the Philippines *cough*). But Pope Francis will always have my respect for seeing the Church as a living and evolving thing that meets the people where they are, not the other way around.
Time will only tell whether we’ll get a successor who will continue Pope Francis’s legacy or the Church will go back to pretending it’s the 1600s. But at least for a time, I and many other young Filipinos got to experience a Catholic Church that saw us for who we were and preached compassion and inclusivity over ostracization and fear-mongering.
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