Following Pope Francis’s death, prime minister Keir Starmer highlighted just how far from morality his own government is. As the Bible says, “whoever digs a pit will fall into it”.
Starmer and Pope Francis: polar opposites
Starmer’s statement said Pope Francis had been “a pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten”. It added that he’d stood alongside people “facing war, famine, persecution and poverty”, inspiring people to “care for one another” and follow the values of “mercy and charity”.
He shamelessly uttered those words as:
- His government gifts billions of pounds to merchants of death and destruction while taking billions away from disabled people and children.
- He continues Britain’s participation in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, warmongering on behalf of the settler-colonial apartheid state and helping to fuel its brutality.
Pope Francis spoke out consistently against the horrors in Gaza while Starmer denied them. The Catholic leader also sought to empower the Global South more within the church, while Starmer blocked a crackdown on tax havens that do so much damage to the Global South. And Francis centred the environment while Starmer attacked it and kept those defending it in prison.
Speaking out, from a position of principle
Unlike Starmer, Pope Francis cautiously challenged right-wing elites, becoming the Catholic church’s “most progressive leader of all time”. Simplicity and humility were key values for the pope, and he favoured Christian values of compassion and mercy over traditionalists’ inflexible obsession with rules. He also sought to involve ordinary members of the church more, especially women. There were no massive changes under his papacy, but his inclusion and decentralisation drive undermined the church’s historically top-down nature, annoying conservatives in the process.
Because he faced off unprecedented opposition from the establishment, some called him authoritarian. But the church itself has never been democratic. And Pope Francis focused mostly on connecting with ordinary people while disrupting traditional European-based hierarchies, rather than creating a loyal power bloc to cement his agenda. If anything, in fact, he made the church more accessible for ordinary people.
And up to the last moment, Francis made a principled stand for people in the most difficult situations. In his Easter address, he said:
How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others
Starmer’s ilk must fall
Jesus apparently said “blessed are the peacemakers” – one like Pope Francis. He also loathed the corruption of religious institutions, overturning tables of money in an act of resistance. Other Christian teachings include:
- “Love your neighbour as you love yourself”.
- “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”.
- “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same”.
In short, we could say Jesus was a socialist.
Keir Starmer’s government, on the other hand, has little to do with principles like showing solidarity with poor people or standing for peace. For Starmer and the corporate cronies around him, money is king. And that means pandering to and empowering those who choose to hate and discriminate is much more of a priority than actually following the principles of Jesus or Pope Francis. Just as those two figures did, we must all overturn the tables of our corrupt political establishment, starting with Starmer’s lot.
Deeply saddened to hear of the death of His Holiness Pope Francis. His tireless efforts to promote a world that is fairer for all will leave a lasting legacy. On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, I share my sincerest condolences to the whole Catholic Church. pic.twitter.com/rrmadD29Dr
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 21, 2025
Featured image via the Canary
