Pope Francis!  Now that Francis has come and gone from the U.S., many upon many pundits and commentators are remarking on how he did.  Most agree that Francis certainly captured the hearts of most Americans, even those who may not believe in Catholicism or God.
     Oddly, however, many people did not appreciate Francis's focus on climate change and the poor.  Better, they felt, that he highlight what they consider to be more pressing moral issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage than, as they saw it, drag the conversation into politically contentious issues that distract the Church, again, as they see it, from advocating the core principles of the gospel.
     We can certainly disagree on the relative importance of moral values.  However, to focus exclusively on some issues and exclude consideration of others is to miss the point. If morality is to mean anything, it must encompass everything about the world and the human experience in it.  Morality is about achieving a balance, in a pluralistic world, between competing human loyalties, spiritual or otherwise, about what is most proper and true.  Francis understands that morality is far more than two issues.
     In addition, Francis grasps that unless morality is couched in a transcendent starting point and framework, it is not viable.  He knows that without transcendence, meaning cannot exist, and the world has no real point.  We have no basis for morality.
     Hence, as Francis frequently points out, morality, centered in a transcendent and loving God, is about love.  We love God, we love our neighbor.  We set our moral conclusions in the compass of love.  Doctrine only has validity if it is expressed in love.
     Francis reminds us that love only has force if we live in a moral universe.