The Footprints of the Pope

By Jonathan Safran Foer There are people who do not merely walk the earth, but whose steps leave footprints for us to follow. At a time when theology so often becomes a slogan or abstraction, when speed is valued above significance, and the will to power risks dominating every aspect of life, Pope Francis embodied compassion. He walked in the path of the prophets — not to foretell, but to remind. He reminded us of what we continually forget: goodness is not an idea but a practice. Pope Francis called for a revolution of tenderness. As I understand it, this revolution is not bound to any particular set of beliefs, but to being perpetually disturbed. To risk opening one’s eyes enough to see the world as it is, and to ache for what it must become. (As each of us is a part of the world, we must also see ourselves as we are.) Consciousness is ...