Fergus Finlay: Pope Francis — A good man but a failed papacy

Poor and marginalised people mattered to the late pope, but not so much to the Catholic Church — just look at its response to Sheila Nunan's mother and baby homes redress report

Pope Francis boarding his Aer Lingus flight to the Vatican at Dublin Airport in 2018. During that visit, Francis asked for forgiveness for abuses — but Sheila Nunan received a tepid response from Catholic institutions regarding mother and baby homes redress. Picture: Joe Giddens/PA

In the end, when all the tributes have been paid, the world will remember a good man and a failed papacy.

Pope Francis’s election was a sensation for all sorts of reasons. And it became even more so when the world saw him in action — obviously humble, obviously committed to the poor. When we heard him, even those of us on the outside looking in began to wonder if at last change was going to happen.