A few days ago, a video on Facebook surfaced online. It is the video that captured the compassionate ability of human beings, and in this case, that human being is the pope. Pope Francis was part of the Q &A session with the kids in a poor parish in the outskirts of Rome. Many children asked him questions about the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
At one point, a young boy, about 6-7 years old named Emanuele stepped up to the podium. He proceeded to ask the pope his question but was afraid and hesitant. The pope’s assistant encouraged him, and after several attempts, the pope said, “Come, come, come, Emanuele, come tell me in my ear” in Italian.
Emanuele finally had the courage to ask his question and whispered in the pope’s ear about whether his dead father, who was an atheist was able to go to heaven despite not being baptized and believing in God. This deceased man, although a non-believer had his four children baptized.
By his sound judgment, Pope Francis consoled Emanuele of his grief and told him that. “God’s heart is like a loving father” who never abandons his children. The video of the encounter can be found here. When I watched that video, my eyes started bawling. But most importantly, I learned that it takes courage to ask hard questions. I learned that it's important to be there for someone when he or she encounter a sad time in his or her life. I learned that an action, no matter what it is, can tell us a lot about the kind of people we come in contact with.
Through the example of the pope consoling a young boy who is grieving for his father, we can see the compassion in the pope that draws people towards him, especially children. Human compassion is what makes us unique because we are made for relationships. We are made to love. We are made to console each other during times of sadness.
We are human beings, and as human beings, it is our responsibility to make sure that not only our physical needs are being met but our emotional needs as well. The video of the boy’s encounter with the pope taught me more about myself as a human being, and that is to be-- more compassionate and willing to listen to the most vulnerable people of our human race. The pope’s loving actions is huge example that we should all learn from--regardless of religion or race.
