Fiona Moss / 23 April 2025 / Categories: People, World Leaders, Opinions, Bodies & Groups, Religions

World Earth Day Easter And Pope Francis

Synchronicity needed a mention

I am not religious. I was raised a Catholic but never really went to church and I couldn’t ever really buy into the dogma on the one hand and the behaviour and historic abuse in the church on the other. I follow my own religion where I focus on key qualities and characteristics like kindness, honesty, being hardworking to nurture a knowing from the inside instead of a blindly believing with no evidence from the outside.

People say all the time “things happen for a reason” this is something I not only say, I believe it more so than any religious faith so I was struck by the synchronicity or coincidence of the last three days. On the April 20th, 2025 the Christian church celebrated it’s most holy and significant day in the religious calendar, on the 21st April, 2025 the Pope, Pontif Francis dies and on the 22nd April, 2025 we celebrated World Earth Day.

I follow the dancer Katherine Barkman on Instagram @Katherine_barkman and back in July of 2020 I saved a post she shared from the Diocese of Tandag a Latin order of the Catholic Church based in the Philippines. It was a picture of Francis with his words beside it.

“Rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruit, the sun does not shine on itself, and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is the rule of nature. We are all born to help each other no matter how difficult it is Life is good when you are happy but much better when others are happy because of you”

Pope Francis

I also wanted to add something a friend of mine said as we watched the news footage, stories and anecdotes from people he knew and people who had met him including the only remaining Catholic priest in Gaza city Father Gabriel Romanelli who said he spoke to the Pope for the last time on Saturday 19th April for a few moments.

I believe Pope Francis was a popular man who’s more humble no nonsense less traditional way of doing things wasn’t always embraced by the wider establishment of the Catholic Church, it’s true no one likes change.

Whether you are religious or not, I was struck by something a young person watching the news coverage with us said

“He is very fat, look at his big chin, he doesn’t look very healthy or divine.”

It made me think of the story of the Emperors New Clothes.

Like I said at the beginning of my musings I am not religious except I dance every day.

I did like it Pope Francis is to have only one wooden coffin and not three and he asked for a simple inscription his name only “Francisco”

Earth Day was established over 50 years ago after a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara California in 1969 ways before I was born. The idea was to engage more people in the importance of protecting the planet. gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes came up with Earth Day as a way to engage the public and push green issues to the national agenda.