Christian Leaders Mourn Pope Francis; Prayers Urged

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urged Christians to pray for the Catholic Church following Pope Francis’s death.

“Pope Francis passed away this morning after battling health issues,” Graham said in a statement on social media. “He was able to have meetings and appear at some of the Vatican’s Holy Week observances in just the last couple of days,” added Graham, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham.

“I had the opportunity to meet and talk with him last year when I went to Naples to preach. Pray for the Catholic Church as they begin the process of selecting the next pope.”

Graham included a photo of himself shaking hands with the pontiff as part of his post.

Other Christian leaders, including Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, also offered condolences. “Pope Francis served Christ’s church with wisdom, courage, and humility,” she stated. “Throughout his pastoral ministry, he served as an instrument of God’s justice and peace for all people and the whole of creation.”

Reverend Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and an Evangelical public relations executive, urged Evangelicals to “pray for the Catholic Church as they mourn the passing of Pope Francis and prepare to select his successor.”

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Moore said he participated in the late pope’s pilgrimages to the United Arab Emirates, reportedly the first time a pontiff had ever visited the Arabian Peninsula and the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, also noticed that

“We mourn the passing of Pope Francis, a visionary leader of faith and a tireless advocate for the marginalized,” tweeted Rodriguez.

In 2016, Rodriquez and the late pope gave speeches at the Together 2016 Evangelical event in Washington, D.C.

Rodriquez added, “His life was a testament to hope — the hope that the Church can shine as a beacon of light in a darkening world. Now, more than ever, that message is needed, and today, we have lost one of its most steadfast champions.”

Several Christian leaders had similar messages as they remembered the passing of the pontiff of some 1 billion Catholics at age 88.

The Vatican said Pope Francis had gone “in the arms of the Father.”

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