EXPERT Q&A
As the world considers the legacy of Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, his guidance on migration, economic justice and unity continues to hold critical importance amid growing political divides.
Silvia Pedraza, professor of sociology and American culture at the University of Michigan who witnessed Pope Francis in Rome and in Washington, D.C., explores how his leadership as the first Latin American pope confronted anti-immigrant rhetoric and reshaped the church's role worldwide, transforming expectations around social justice and migrant rights.
How did his papacy resonate among Latin American Catholics compared to others-especially on issues like migration, poverty or social justice?
I do believe everyone in Latin America and the Global South really liked Pope Francis' concern for the poor, the immigrant, the marginalized. Without doubt, some conservative Catholics also thought he went too far, not paying attention to doctrine or to key issues like abortion and homosexuality. But even they appreciated his humility, his simplicity, his regard for those at the margins of society.
When I heard him speak in Washington, D.C., in September 2015, he gave a beautiful speech that used several major American public servants and leaders-President Abraham Lincoln, Rev. Martin Luther King, Catholic worker Dorothy Day and priest Thomas Merton-to talk about what each of them contributed, over history, to American life at crucial times. And he reminded all the people in Congress that they all came from immigrant families.
Pope Francis called Trump's border wall 'not Christian' and clashed with nationalist leaders. Did this redefine the Vatican's political role? And could the next pope reverse this approach?
He is the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit, the first not ultra conservative. At the same time, he did not really understand people from communist countries like Cuba, as Pope John Paul II definitely did, being a Polish Pope and having played a role in the transition out of communism in Poland.
Regarding the next transition, I wonder if the Cardinals will now vote for someone else from the Global South or it will return to a European, largely conservative Pope. We will see. The Catholic Church today is more important in the Global South than in the Global North.
Pope Francis called unfettered capitalism 'a new tyranny' and prioritized poverty relief-a stark contrast to Benedict XVI's focus on doctrine. Did this shift alienate conservative Catholics while attracting new followers?
No doubt Pope Francis thought "unfettered capitalism" was a problem. He also said about Trump's efforts to deport the undocumented immigrants that "Nothing good will come of that." When I heard his speech in Rome last July, he focused on human trafficking, the drug world and the vulnerability of those it swept into those terrible roles with them. Yet in the end, in the last sentences, he said that we should pray not only for those who are trafficked but also for the traffickers. His capacity to be humane was enormous.
