Hospitals, Offices, and the Urgent Lessons from Pope Francis

By William Lubuulwa

Today, Saturday April 26, 2025, Pope Francis who completed his earthly duties on April 21, 2025 has been laid to rest at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The funeral was attended by more than 200,000 mourners including our very own Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament Anita Annet Among,and her deputy Thomas Tayebwa. In Pope Francis’ death, the world lost one of its most beloved spiritual voices. He passed away at the age of 88, leaving behind not only a grieving Church but a world yearning for the kind of wisdom he offered so generously.

This evening, as I sat quietly flipping through some of his writings, I stumbled upon a passage that struck me like a bolt of lightning straight to the soul. He had written:

“The walls of hospitals have heard more honest prayers than churches… They have witnessed far more sincere kisses than those in airports… It is in hospitals that you see a homophobe being saved by a gay doctor. A privileged doctor saving the life of a beggar… In intensive care, you see a Jew taking care of a racist… A police officer and a prisoner in the same room receiving the same care… A wealthy patient waiting for a liver transplant, ready to receive the organ from a poor donor…”

Normally, when life hangs by a thread, when the beeping of a heart monitor becomes the soundtrack of our fragile existence, we finally take off our masks and meet each other as human beings – not as titles, not as ranks, not as statuses, but as people.

Reading Pope Francis’s words, my mind couldn’t help but wander to our typical office environments. Those tidy, fluorescent-lit spaces where, instead of coming together to achieve great things, we often wear thicker masks than those worn by actors competing for an annual award at the National Theatre.

Let’s face it: we all go to our work places to help our institutions achieve their mandates. In September 2017, Ugandan Members of Parliament (MPs) exchanged blows in the august House during a heated debate over removing the presidential age limit, which would allow President Museveni to run again. Chaos erupted on September 26 and 27, with MPs throwing chairs and fighting, seriously tarnishing the dignity of Parliament. MPs are supposed to uphold peaceful debate and democracy, and, therefore, such violence was not called for. It was shameful and must permanently be condemned. Do you think Pope Francis loved the experience?

NEMA’s Duty

For those of us at the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), our mandate is clear as day: to protect Uganda’s environment for the benefit of all – now and for generations to come. We are not here to fight each other over staplers, to gossip about who got to the memo, to wonder why William chooses to use the taxi, or to build empires of ego. We are here to serve a cause bigger than ourselves. Yet sadly, loitering in some corridors of power are toxic supervisors and officemates – the villains of every office saga. These are the folks who whisper about other’s naughty behaviour, who want to micromanage breathing patterns, who delegate blame instead of tasks, and who think leading means intimidating rather than inspiring.

Toxic Workmates

A toxic supervisor, just like a colleague of the same or even lower rank, is like a mosquito at night – small, but capable of making your whole existence miserable. And worse, they don’t just hurt individuals; they slowly but surely fail the organisation itself. For instance, while the forests burn and the wetlands cry for help, toxic workmates in the space of environment protection are too busy staging petty power plays, leaving mandates gathering dust in untouched drawers.

Pope Francis reminded us that life is far too short for such nonsense: “Do not waste it fighting with people… Hug your loved ones… Love more, forgive more, embrace more, live more intensely!” How many of us do this?

His teaching resonates deeply with my own faith journey. As a proud member of The Temple Mount Church of All Nations, pastored by Prophet Samuel Kakande, I have learned not just to preach forgiveness, but to practice it –  willingly forgiving all who have hurt me, even those plotting to harm my official and private life.

Of course, I offer no apologies for subscribing to Prophet Kakande’s Church. I am old enough to choose my Church. A lot has been spoken about this Man of God, and more is yet to come – but that is life. You cannot control other people’s opinions, and what they believe in. If you spent your time chasing every rumour or battling every critic, you would end up tired, bitter, broke and probably mad. Life is too precious for that. I have chosen to live mine freely and joyfully. Why cling to anger when you can hold onto peace? Why waste precious time plotting office wars when we could be planting seeds of change – real change that benefits not just our careers, but our communities, our country, and our planet?

One day, just like Pope Francis’ hospital walls that heard the rawest cries, our office walls will tell stories too. What story will yours tell? That you lifted others? That you protected the Earth? That you loved enough to forgive and inspired enough to lead? Or will the wall tell the sad tale of a brilliant institution crippled by office politics, choked by ego, and buried under the debris of broken dreams?

Choices Should Be Clear

For me, the choice is clear. For all of us, our choices should be clearer and urgent. Let us learn from the hospital walls. Let’s lead with kindness. Let’s work with passion. Let’s live without regrets. And when our time comes, may it be said that we spent our days lifting mandates higher, not lifting chairs to throw at meetings. May the timeless wisdom of Pope Francis continue to guide us. And may common sense, mercy, and love finally take their permanent positions in our offices, once and for all. One question for you and me: Do we learn any lessons from the fallen Pope?