Statement from the Canadian Unitarian Council on the Passing of Pope Francis

April 22, 2025

With the passing of Pope Francis, we offer our condolences to members of the Roman Catholic Church and to all who are grieving the loss of a profoundly influential global spiritual leader.

We remember Pope Francis as a voice of moral conscience in our time — a pope who, with humility and courage, sought to address the world’s significant spiritual and ethical challenges. He was a pope who was a man of the people. He deeply cared about the day’s issues and sought healing, justice, and mercy. 

From moving the annual foot-washing ceremony to the prisons, to phoning the only standing Catholic church in Gaza nightly to provide support, he was a pope who centred the needs of those on the margins. 

His encyclical Laudato Si’ called for urgent, justice-centred care for our common home, and inspired people of many faiths to deepen their commitment to climate action and ecological solidarity. As well, when he visited Canada in 2022, he acknowledged the devastating role the Catholic Church played in the genocide of Indigenous peoples through the residential school system. Though not without critique, his presence and apology marked a step toward truth-telling and healing — a journey we know is long and ongoing. We are in solidarity with Indigenous communities as they continue to speak truth and seek justice.

As Unitarian Universalists, we honour the values of compassion, justice, humility, and the interconnectedness of all life — values that transcend traditions and call us into right relationship with one another and the Earth. In his ministry, we recognize that Pope Francis lifted many of these shared commitments: challenging systems of oppression, advocating for the poor and marginalized, and urging all people to care for creation with reverence and urgency. In this time of mourning, we hold close those for whom Pope Francis was a source of hope and spiritual grounding, and we honour the grief of those whose lives he touched. 

May this be a time of remembrance and reflection, and of renewed dedication — across religious traditions — to the ongoing work of reconciliation, ecological stewardship, and human dignity for all.

~ From the CUC’s National Voice Team: 

UU Ministers of Canada President, Rev. Samaya Oakley; CUC Board Co-Presidents, Margaret Kohr & Rev. Debra Faulk, and CUC Executive Director, Vyda Ng.

The Canadian Unitarian Council / Conseil unitarien du Canada (CUC) is the national association of Unitarian Universalist congregations across Canada. The Unitarian Universalist Ministers of Canada (UUMoC) represents over 70 active ministers who serve congregations or work in the larger community. We are a diverse religion bound by a shared commitment to equity and justice. We covenant to a set of principles that calls us to seek peace, liberty, and compassion, to search for truth and meaning, to respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person and the democratic process, and to dismantle systemic barriers to full inclusion.

Contact: communications@cuc.ca