Like Jesus, Pope Francis was a witness to the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. Jesus didn’t have a political program and neither did Pope Francis. However, at the heart of both of their ministries was a deep concern for the dignity of those excluded from society's benefits and strong words for those who claimed more than their fair share.

That our beloved pope died and was buried in the last week of Canada’s federal election campaign might draw our attention to the sharp contrast between the way of Jesus and the way of politics. Francis aimed his ministry at nurturing a poor church for the poor. Those same poor received nary a mention from the leaders of the two main parties contesting to form our next government. 

We heard about affordability, which is a central concern for the millions of Canadians who scrape to make ends meet. For many young people, the possibility of owning their own home is but a dream.

About five years ago, the couple who had lived in the house next to ours for about 50 years moved out, too old to look after their yard and modest bungalow. Eventually the house was torn down, and the property went on the market for an asking price of $390,000. It was purchased and on Easter Sunday, a large backhoe began digging the first hole for a foundation of the two houses that will be constructed on that 50-foot lot. Current prices for new skinny homes in our neighbourhood are between $850,000 and $1 million. The value of that property will increase by between four and five times. It is little wonder that housing affordability is a concern.

At least that issue draws the politicians’ interest. 

My primary volunteer activity is as chair of the board for Edmonton’s Inner City Pastoral Ministry, an ecumenical organization that ministers to a flock that includes many homeless people and drug addicts. Mostly, these are forgotten people who only draw public interest when they erect tent cities, or someone finds used needles on the street. Many of these people have mental health issues and life stories we can barely begin to imagine. Annually, more than 400 Edmontonians die from the effects of homelessness.

Governments see these people – if they see them at all – as a problem, typically one to be dealt with by the police. When supportive housing developments offer the destitute hope for a better life, often neighbours rise in protest because they fear crime will arise. 

Pope Francis always supported the homeless, migrants, prisoners and the mentally disabled. He promoted larger roles for women in the Church. He worked to bring healing to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and of Canada’s Indian residential schools. He himself had a simple lifestyle. Through his actions, he showed what it means to be a poor church for the poor. 

The late pope also spoke out for Mother Earth, as St. Francis of Assisi called her. We revere the earth because God created her with magnificence and bounty. The earth provides the resources that sustain our lives. However, we have been fouling the air and the ground for centuries, a type of disrespect for the Creator that is now having devastating consequences.

Where were the voices of our prospective national leaders speaking out on behalf of Creation in the recent election? Climate change has not gone away.

Our Inner City Pastoral Ministry would not exist if not for the work of about 60 faith communities and other organizations that bring lunches and volunteers to our Sunday church services downtown. Many people get a taste of what it means to serve those in dire need. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people from each of those groups financially support the preparation of those lunches. Pope Francis did not invent the notion of a poor church for the poor. It has been there since the time of Jesus.

The new government will receive a proposal to eliminate tax deductions for charitable donations to religious institutions. Implementing such a proposal would be devastating, not only for freedom of worship but also for the poor who rely on the services churches provide. 

Through his long pontificate, Pope John Paul II emphasized the immeasurable dignity of the human person. Pope Francis called us to be the hands and feet of Christ in supporting that dignity. This is what diversity, equity and inclusion mean. They mean human dignity has the face of Christ. We remember Pope Francis by serving the outcasts.