Rev. Daniel Groody, C.S.C., vice president, associate provost and a professor of theology and global affairs, is an expert on Catholic social teaching and migration. His most recent book, “A Theology of Migration: The Bodies of Refugees and the Body of Christ,” features a foreword by Pope Francis.
In reflecting on Pope Francis’ legacy, Father Groody turned to the pope’s own words: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s Mercy,” wrote Pope Francis in Misericordiae Vultus. “These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith.”
“Pope Francis has reminded us throughout his life and through his words, gestures and actions that the Gospel message is fundamentally about God’s mercy,” Father Groody said. “For this reason, he chose as his motto ‘Miserando atque eligendo,’ which means, ‘The Lord looked on him with merciful love and called him.’ While alluding to Matthew’s call, he makes these words his own when he becomes a priest. This vision has always been at the core of his pastoral work, and it took on a global significance when he was elected pope.”
Father Groody stated that as Pope Francis internalized this mercy, it also shaped his social vision.
“He knew this mercy is an unmerited gift, but it also requires a response from us — one that calls us to live in God’s image and likeness as agents of the resurrection in the renewal of all of creation,” Father Groody said. “He knows that his life of faith is not only about his personal relationship with Jesus, but also his social connection to everyone he meets, beginning with the most vulnerable. This vision has led him to care for people experiencing poverty, migrants, refugees and the Earth.”
Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has shown how God cares about everyone, “especially those discarded and ignored by society,” Father Groody continued, noting that Pope Francis spoke frequently about the “globalization of indifference” and the call to solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
“He put great emphasis on remembering those cut off from the body of society,” Father Groody said. “Whether it be washing the feet of prisoners, migrants and non-Christians during the Holy Thursday exercises or stopping his papal motorcade to embrace the most disfigured and disenfranchised of the human family, he constantly reminded us that God’s love is boundless and knows no limits.”
Amid a world that increasingly demeans and dehumanizes migrants, Father Groody said, Pope Francis has repeatedly highlighted the dignity of the human person and our interconnection as a human family. He challenged us to see that migration is not the main problem but a symptom of a more profound global and systemic imbalance that displaces people and pushes them to seek more dignified lives.
According to Father Groody, Pope Francis’ first trip to Lampedusa was one of his most defining trips. After hearing of the plight of 360 refugees who died at sea in October 2013, Pope Francis visited the Italian island to call attention to the plight of migrants.
“While the world frequently ignores them and regards them as ‘nobodies,’ Pope Francis called us to see they are not only ‘somebody’ but connected to everybody and even the body of Christ,” Father Groody said.
In Pope Francis’ encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, Fratelli Tutti, the pope offered “a vision of building a more just, humane and peaceful world that unites everyone regardless of nationality, culture or religion,” Father Groody said. “He promoted a vision of faith that speaks to our common fraternal bonds, irrespective of nationality, culture or religion.”
At its core, Father Groody said, Pope Francis’ vision of faith has been a relational vision, one attuned especially to our integral connection to all creation.
“In Ladauto si’, his encyclical on the environment, he critiqued unbridled consumerism,” Father Groody said. “He illuminated how the care of creation is a moral and spiritual responsibility that calls forth a collective response to our times’ social and environmental crises.”
As the first pope elected from Latin America, his vision has been genuinely Catholic, Father Groody said.
“In his appointments, he sought to promote the universal message of the Gospel by concretizing a global vision for the Church,” Father Groody said. “While he started with the College of Cardinals, primarily comprised of people from Europe, he has appointed 176 cardinals from 76 countries since his election.
“Francis’ relational vision has been a fresh presentation of an age-old calling. It taps into a deep spiritual journey that transforms our hearts, communities and world. Ultimately, he has called us to live in a way that reflects the God of Life and to build a civilization of love.”