Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to associate myself with the beautiful sentiments that have been expressed this evening in the condolence motion for Pope Francis, with Catholics all around the world and with those who are saddened by his passing. Jesus Christ told his followers to be the salt of the earth, and Pope Francis definitely lived up to that admonition by being a pope who added flavour to the Catholic Church and to the world.

As many have remarked tonight, he did take significantly controversial and impactful positions on matters of climate change and on wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The reform of the church, as well, has been expressed in the practices of the synod and other measures. I did not agree with all of those sentiments that the Pope sometimes expressed, but, as a Catholic, I'd much prefer a pope I disagreed with than one that provoked no reaction at all. The Lord does work in mysterious ways. The reactions to Pope Francis's decisions were perhaps sometimes different to what he intended. Somewhat ironically for a pope who did seek to modernise practices within the Catholic Church, his papacy has coincided with the greatest flourishing of traditional Catholicism seen for many centuries. Many young Catholics now find themselves much more attracted to the traditional Latin mass. Despite the attempts of Rome to suppress those practices, they are flourishing—somewhat underground, in the strong traditions of the early church. So Pope Francis's pontificate will have enormous ramifications throughout the church long after his passing.

We, I suppose, in modern times, would consider the admonition of Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, to be the salt of the earth to mean 'to add flavour'—to be salty—because that's typically how we use salt in modern times. In Jesus's time, though, salt was primarily used to preserve meat and other foodstuffs for longer term use. Clearly, one of the sentiments that Jesus Christ meant in the Sermon on the Mount was 'to preserve'—to preserve the moral foundations of his teachings. Pope Francis did also live up to that element of Jesus's teaching.

Pope Francis was very traditional in his sentiments on major modern issues. He referred to the enormous increase in the practice of abortion as 'murder' and as part of a 'throwaway culture'. He stood up for the traditional view of marriage as being between a man and a woman, calling such an institution the 'first cell of society'. Indeed, it does seem like we have lost something in that we no longer really have a word to describe the formation, the creation, of a life which happens with the union of a man and a woman. That's something that the Catholic Church continues to stand up for. Pope Francis also strongly rejected what he called 'gender ideology' and stood up for the principle that the human body is a gift from God, not something to be manipulated. I'm sure the Catholic Church will continue to preserve these moral traditions that are not always popular or in fashion but do require a defence.

Despite the criticism, the fascination and, sometimes, the contempt that many have for the Catholic Church, it was to me instructive to see that both the passing of Pope Francis and the election of new pope Leo XIV fascinated the world for months, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The world's eyes were on Rome and on the goings-on in the Vatican at the time. To me, that shows the importance of defending the faith, defending what people do think is the right faith, despite the criticism.

The Vatican itself, of course, was built on Nero's circus, where St Peter was crucified for having views that were not popular and not shared by the political leaders of the time. But, despite the persecution of those early Catholics, that faith, now my faith, has survived and flourished, and in triumph it has built perhaps the greatest church, or religious building, in the world, upon the very place where early Catholics were persecuted. Indeed, if you have the chance to go into St Peter's Basilica and you look up at the dome—a bit like our dome up there—you will see the words in Latin 'tv es petrvs et svper hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam'—'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church'. Long may the Catholic Church flourish upon that rock. God bless Pope Francis, and all the best to Pope Leo XIV for his election and his coming pontificate.