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Indiana religious experts reflect on legacy of Pope Francis

By Bente Bouthier

Posted April 22, 2025

AP OK - A woman holds a photo of the late Pope Francis at the Holy Family Basilica Church in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A woman holds a photo of the late Pope Francis at the Holy Family Basilica Church in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Pope Francis, who led the Catholic Church since 2013, died Monday morning.

The Pope serves as the head of the Catholic Church. The Pew Research Center estimates that about 20 percent of the United States Christian population is Catholic — about 53 million adults.

Of the 65 percent of Indiana residents who identify as Christian, 16 percent are Catholic.

Scott Appleby, the Keough Hesburgh Professor of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, said one of the Pope’s most impactful actions was his 2015 writing Laudato si', which connects issues of social inequity and climate change.

“It was a general critique of what the pope called the ‘technological paradigm,’ by which, he meant a way of living in the world in which the most wealthy, the elites of the world, and many multinational corporations had an attitude toward both nature and the Poor that was frankly exploitative,” Appleby said.

AP OK - Pope Francis to bestow a blessing at the end of the Easter mass at the Vatican April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) — Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the *Urbi et Orbi* (Latin for "to the city and the world") blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025. *(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)*

Appleby added Pope Francis was widely supported in northern Indiana, where there’s a concentration of Catholics around Notre Dame. But his approach was at odds with some conservatives, namely Appleby said, on issues like LGBTQ+ rights and immigration.

“His embrace of migrants and refugees, his open-minded, inclusive love for all didn't sit well with some conservative Catholics because they felt on some issues he was too liberal and that the church needs to draw bright red lines around certain kinds of behavior.”

Pope Francis was the first Latin American to hold the position. His papacy came as the number of Latin American Catholics rose in the U.S.

Father Clem Davis is the Senior Associate Pastor of Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church in Columbus, Indiana. Clem said the increase tracks with trends for the Bartholomew County Parish.

Clem said after the fall of Kabul in 2021, the Saint Bartholomew was one of a few churches in Columbus to sponsor Afghan families to resettle there.

“I'd say that that Francis, by his style, certainly gave us the permission, if not the walking orders or marching orders, to reach out in that way.”

Father Clem said the Catholic Church doesn’t have requirements for individual congregations to acknowledge the death of a pope. Pope Francis will be included in regularly scheduled prayer services and masses and named first among the decreased at these.

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis wrote Monday morning that “Pope Francis was committed to leading our Church in a synodal way, urging all pastors to accompany their flocks — especially the poor and marginalized.”

More from NPR: Remembering Pope Francis