The first reaction to the death of Pope Francis, even for people who did not agree with all of his decisions, is to pray for God's mercy and for the cardinals who will gather to choose his successor, Father Chris Alar, the provincial superior of the Marian Fathers in the United States and Argentina, said on Newsmax Monday.
"As Catholics and part of the Catholic family, the Church of Christ, our obligation is to always pray for those entrusted to us as leaders, even if we're not very much totally in agreement of some of the decisions or the actions that were taken," Alar told Newsmax's "Wake Up America. "That at this point doesn't matter. Right now, we pray for the repose of his soul and the Catholic Church."
Catholics must also pray for the cardinals who will enter into the conclave to pick the pope's replacement, said Alar.
"We need to pray that every single cardinal enter into the conclave of the Sistine Chapel in a state of grace, unaware of any mortal sin," he said. "Secondly, we need to pray that every single cardinal there in the conclave of the Sistine Chapel will be praying themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, and not along any ideological lines or politics, if you will, but they will be open to being guided by the Holy Spirit. So this is what is obligated from us as Catholics, both clergy and the laity."
Alar added that Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88, would want to be remembered as a Pope of mercy and a Pope of the people.
"He made many decisions that were for the marginalized, the immigrants," said Alar. "There were many proponents to that thinking that he had overstepped many bounds, and I think, although that is debatable, yes, we could see some of those causing confusion."
And though there may be some lingering controversies over Pope Francis, Alar said, "God's mercy is greater than any of those mistakes we can make or sins that we can commit in our life."
Still, the Pope's heart showed by his being there for people who are in need, "so that's what we pray for, God's mercy … and that God may have mercy on him because of that intent," Alar said.
Alar, also appearing on Newsmax's "National Report," commented that one of the matters that is not being stressed enough is the church's observance of the Easter octave, which goes from Easter Sunday through Divine Mercy Sunday, or the second Sunday of Easter, next week.
"These are all celebrated as one day," he said. "People don't realize this. Each and every one of the eight days is celebrated as a solemnity. That's why we can eat meat this Friday, which we do not normally do on any other Friday."
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