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{
    "id": 1563229,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1563229/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 369,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is meaningless to celebrate the lives of the departed if we do not take moments to ask what lessons we have drawn from them or their works. Predictably, many leaders in Kenya and in the world have had occasion since the death of the Pope to hail him as a great person, a wonderful human being and a compassionate Jesuit. However, I have to point out to everyone that while Pope Francis served, he declined the trappings of the papacy. He preferred to live a humble life in his Casa Santa Maria Marta residence rather than the papal apartments used by his predecessors. Besides this, the Pope was a legendary believer and purveyor of the common touch philosophy. He always preferred to reach out to the masses and show compassion to the lowly. Indeed, the late pontiff was a strong opponent of global economic models that enriched a few and widened the gap between the rich and the poor. He often pointed out the unsuitability of such economics. It is my strong contention, therefore, that mourning the Pope in flowery media releases, while holding on to the exclusivity of right-wing politics, divisive ethnic rhetoric, corruption and wanton theft of public resources, is hypocritical. Such actions contradict the principles held here by the departed pontiff. The Catholic Communion is often painted as a hugely conservative institution, and yet in the period that it has been led by a progressive liberal, the conversation around freedom rights and equality has been magnified more. The lesson being that a good person at the top is all it takes for society to find its foot and move forward. I hope that this lesson will not be lost to both Catholics and non-Catholics as we seek a united front in socio-economic and political realms to empower people and move our countries forward. I am inclined to express my hope that whoever becomes a new Pope will stay on the progressive path charted by the departed pontiff rather than returning the Holy See to the conservative arena. The challenges facing the church and the world today require a new focus, new methods and a new vision. The church and the political platform are now dominated by younger people for whom conservative beliefs may not hold sway. Like Pope Francis, we are obligated to be more sympathetic to migrants, to gender and sexual minorities, to the vulnerable and to the new face of the young voter, nearly all liberal. We have to spur action on climate change and build bridges across ethnic divides. We are now called upon to detach from the divisive rhetoric of our predecessors and embrace each other in our diversity because we have no other option. This will be the greatest way to honour the memory and work of Pope Francis. I thank you."
}