Stunned reaction to pope's death

Jim Morgo, a longtime parishioner at Our Lady of the Snow Roman Catholic Church in Blue Point, said he was stunned when he awoke Monday to the news of the pope’s death.

“My first reaction was, ‘Oh no,’ ” he said. “It was unexpected because all indications were he was on the road to recovery. Coming right after Easter made it almost more difficult to grasp” since Easter is a day of joy for Catholics marking Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

“What follows of course is the apprehension of what kind of pope are we going to get next?” Morgo added. “Are we going to have someone who goes backwards or are we going to have someone with his understanding and love of all humanity, his understanding of the suffering of migrants and the poor?”

Francis “wasn’t dogmatic,” he said. “He seemed to have a flexibility and understanding.”