Opinion Pope Francis spoke to our conscience, even when politics demands calculation

As the first pope from the Global South — and I studied at Burn Hall, an Irish Catholic School in Srinagar, at a time when the leadership was “White” — Francis brought with him not just the charisma of personal humility but the lived memory of coloniality, inequality, and the faith of the periphery. That he hailed from Argentina — a country deeply shaped by postcolonial contradictions — mattered. It shaped how he spoke about suffering, about global structures, about the economy of exclusion. It lent his words an authenticity that resonated from the favelas of Latin America to the slums of South Asia.

What distinguished Francis was the moral architecture of his leadership. He rejected the trappings of power from the very first moment — eschewing the papal palace, choosing simpler vestments, and calling for a “poor Church for the poor”. Yet these gestures were not symbolic retreats from power; they were radical redefinitions of it. They articulated an ethic in which leadership is rooted not in grandeur but in service — an idea deeply resonant with Indian philosophical traditions.

In the world of international relations — where my own academic work is situated — Francis was a distinctive kind of global actor. He held no great military, economic, or territorial authority, and yet he shaped global discourse in ways that few heads of state could. His interventions on climate change, migration, nuclear disarmament, and economic justice often preceded or pressured official multilateral bodies. His encyclicals, such as Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, were not only theological documents but transnational appeals to the human conscience.

In many ways, Francis offered a soft power model that went beyond the Western liberal tradition — one more attentive to the voices of the Global South, to indigenous knowledge systems, to the spiritual roots of solidarity. His moral diplomacy was not the paternalism of the pulpit but the politics of accompaniment: Walking with, rather than speaking for, the vulnerable.

This was particularly evident in his approach to interfaith relations. Francis approached religious difference not with defensiveness or triumphalism but with humility and reverence. He understood what Indian thinkers such as Swami Vivekananda understood long ago: That the deepest expressions of faith are not competitive but collaborative. That religions, in their truest form, are not bunkers of identity but bridges of ethical encounter.

His historic embrace with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and their co-signing of the ‘Document on Human Fraternity’ in 2019 marked a paradigmatic shift in Catholic-Muslim relations. It articulated a shared moral framework rooted in mutual recognition, respect, and responsibility. That this document emerged not from the West but from Abu Dhabi — an Islamic context — signified a de-centering of Eurocentric religious dialogue and affirmed a global ethic of coexistence.

His engagement with Eastern religions, too, was marked by deep listening rather than tokenism. He met with Buddhist leaders, acknowledged the spiritual insights of Hinduism and Jainism, and supported dialogue with Sikh institutions. He never claimed universalism through erasure but through encounter. This echoes the Indian philosophical ideal of anekantavada — the Jain principle that truth is manifold and best apprehended through humility.

Francis’ contribution to the global environmental movement deserves special mention. In Laudato Si’, he did not simply argue for ecological stewardship as a scientific or policy imperative. He framed it as a spiritual crisis — one rooted in the alienation of human beings from both the earth and one another. He connected the dots between climate change, consumerism, poverty, and systemic injustice. In doing so, he created one of the most comprehensive moral arguments for environmental justice in the 21st century.

This integrated vision — of the planet, the poor, and the ethical obligations of humanity — mirrored, in many ways, the teachings of ancient Indian texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, which speak of the interconnectedness of life and the duty (dharma) to uphold balance. Francis, in his own Christian register, offered a global reinterpretation of that sacred responsibility.

As an academic and institutional leader, I have often reflected on how rare it is to encounter public figures who speak across ideological divides without diluting moral conviction. Francis managed that rare equilibrium. He could critique capitalism without endorsing authoritarian alternatives. He could affirm traditional spiritual values while embracing LGBTQ rights, women’s dignity, and the imperative of listening to the young. His ability to hold complexity without collapsing into contradiction made him uniquely credible in an era of simplifications.

To be sure, he faced criticism from both conservative and progressive factions within the Church. His reforms did not go as far as some hoped, especially on the ordination of women and deeper structural inclusion. But even these criticisms confirm that Francis was willing to walk the tightrope of reform with both urgency and caution — a trait that those of us in public institutions can deeply appreciate.

Ultimately, Pope Francis’ greatest legacy may not be institutional but ethical. He reminded the world that leadership — religious or otherwise — is not about dominion but about witness. About holding space for the sacred amidst the secular. About speaking to the conscience, even when politics demands calculation. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, “Pope Francis will be remembered as a beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage by millions across the world.”

His passing leaves a void — not only in the Vatican but in the global conversation about what it means to live meaningfully, to lead ethically, and to believe expansively. In India, where the call for interfaith reconciliation and ecological justice grows ever more urgent, the legacy of Pope Francis should not be remembered only as a Catholic one. It should be embraced as a human one.

The writer is dean, School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi