04/29/25 Afternoon CommStock Report – Footnote-Footnote-Footnote-Footnote

Footnotes on Pope Francis: While Lutheran, I have long admired Pope Francis as personifying what a Christian should be. I set him out as being the most Christian Pope, living and preaching the gospel in humility, in my lifetime. That pitched him into contrast and conflict with some of the strongest cultural and political movements today. All Pope Francis did was point out how Jesus said to treat strangers and children and that was contrary to what many politicians were selling voters or voters were demanding of politicians. That is why the public uproar against a caravan of children crossing our southern border a few years ago forced me to comment on the hypocrisy. My wife and I visited the Vatican and gazed at Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel ceiling. While most impressive, we also came away with an aversion to the overall ostentatiousness of the place. The irony and our connection to Pope Francis was that we shared that perception which is why he chose not to live there. I am not convinced that had Martin Luther known Pope Francis that there would be Lutherans today. I recommend the movie “Conclave” for an idea of what comes next.   Footnotes on…