Pope Francis, 2013 and after

“… andaba Francisco (de Asís) un día cerca de la iglesia de San Damián (Rivotorto), que estaba casi derruida y se encontraba rezando cuando oyó: “Francisco, ve, repara mi casa, que, como ves, se viene del todo On the ground”. Francisco prepared to obey, all of him concentrating on the order received…” (Account by Thomas de Celano (Second Life of Francisco, 2 Cel 10)”

The Cardinal of Buenos Aires was summoned to participate in the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Episcopal Ministry (more precisely to answer the question of what the bishop should be in the 21st century). Meeting to be held in Rome from June to August 2001. As we know, on September 11 – while the Assembly was taking place – the terrorist attack on the twin towers of New York took place which shocked the world.

Following this tragic event, two North American prelates who had been designated “rapporteurs” had to leave the site of the Assembly to return to their country and God wanted them to designate the Argentinian as a replacement for this reason. . This had a brilliant and unexpected performance in the task of synthesizing the most outstanding criteria of the members of the assembly. This surprised everyone.

Thus, a few years later, after the death of John Paul II, at the conclave of 2005, his figure reappeared as a possible replacement for the Bishop of Rome, achieving a wealth of voice that was surpassed by a slight advantage by the great German theologian Joseph Ratzinger. It was then that the Jesuit expressed his willingness to give up his votes in his favour.

Neither space nor circumstances permit us to go into this note in detail how, through a Vatican bureaucracy steeped in corruption, deterioration had gripped the Roman Curia and continued to increase. We will limit ourselves to highlighting four reasons that went against the spirit and the letter of the Second Vatican Council and the opinions of the most authoritative cardinals expressed during the memorable X Assembly of 2001.

1.- The installation in important positions in the government of the Church of a “tribunal” of prelates in the Roman Curia who, obliterating pastoral ends, used the power they held for corporate and/or personal ends ;

2.- the corruption scandals and misappropriation of the purposes of the so-called Vatican Bank (IOR);

3.-the penetration of the mafia,

4.-pedophilia scandals

5.-the Vatileaks scandal.

The recognized intelligence of Pope Ratzinger was not enough to fight these evils that had been generated long before his papacy, but he had a lot of intelligence to be aware of the situation. As we have said, he was an extraordinary theologian and a great philosopher, but the Church needed a leader who would transform the structures of the Curia and the Church in general and lead the laity and clergy on the way of the Gospel. Pope Benedict understood this circumstance and its limits in this specific area of ​​the exercise of power. For this reason, as we have already said in our previous note, Pope Benedict XVI in an act of lucidity and courage resigned on February 11, 2013.

Bergoglio leaves through Porta Sant’Angelo towards St. Peter’s Square, from the last meeting of cardinals before the conclave (photo by Hernán Bernasconi)

After the secrecy surrounding the resignation of Benedict, which only became known on February 11, and the death or non-participation due to age to be an elector of certain diabolical elements, the “chufi-chufi” of Pertini n didn’t work, as Pope Francis reminds us in the “collection” interview that journalist Daniel Hadad gave him published by this media.

At 7:00 p.m. the next day, our ombrello (umbrella) was part of an extension of three or four hectares of umbrellas of all colors under the roof of which the crowd was protected. This columnist rested with hunger, exhaustion and anguish on the Nikon mounted on a tripod forty meters from the atrium of the most important basilica in the world.

Something I hadn’t seen before was the diversity: men, women, infants, young, old and old, different languages, different degrees of contraction, laity, priests, nuns, students, whites, browns, orientals, in schools, parishes, convents. , tourists, crowded with parasol in parasol, in Piazza San Pietro in Rome with only one question: will it be? And if so, who will it be? With a single glance directed at the chimney which, above and to the right of the roofs of the Vatican, was flown over, despite the bad weather, by pigeons. Several times the fumo nero disappointed expectations until at 7:10 p.m. a fumo nero appeared followed by sbuffi grigi which slowly turned white.

The cardinals had received the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, voted and elected the new leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics. A general roar was followed by a long show of applause that lasted perhaps twenty minutes or more.

An hour later, according to ancient Vatican customs, would arrive the original name and the name adopted by the chosen one for his exercise. Everything that followed the reader knows. French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran appeared on the balcony and in broken Spanish announced the name of the new pontiff: Jorge Mario Bergoglio who chose the name Francis. Later it was learned that he had decided to do so in homage to il poverello d’Assisi after receiving the greetings of Card. Hummes from Brazil who, while congratulating him, told him: “don’t forget the poor!

This chronicler lacks the pen and the art capable of painting the profound and immortal beauty of those moments that marked his heart and his thoughts for the rest of his life. The movement of the city resembled the waves of an ocean colliding with the atmosphere coming and going as if it were one, in the same gigantic square. An act of total communion. With Christ, with the anointed and with the people of God. Within the framework of the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion and of the greatest diversity. And it was said: “against this the devil cannot!”

And he came out on the balcony and blessed the people and was cheered by the crowd with applause, cheers, expressions of faith and immense joy, at the same time in different tones and languages ​​the crowd wondered: ” Who is this ? ” “Who is this?”.

The new pontiff has picked up a church dominated by the evils we have reported and although he is Argentinian, he has never been heard of “the inheritance received”. Cardinals around the world had already discussed this reality of a Church in ruins in a deep-water debate that only concluded in Congregation or pre-Conclave meetings days before the election. Most of them have agreed to mark a change of direction, to open up to the world, to follow a path of reconstruction and structural reforms. When it was his turn, later – already Pope – to sign his toughest resolutions aimed at “repairing the Church”, based on this conviction, he did not hesitate to do so and implement them.

A priest rightly says that “Commenting on the text of Revelation 3,20 where it is said that the Lord is at the door and knocks, Bergoglio affirmed that the interpretation according to which the text refers to Jesus knocking at the back door is true.” go out to come in.”

“But he added that he was thinking about the times when Jesus knocks from within so that we let him out.”

“Undoubtedly, this interpretation may shock many Bible scholars, but it is a questioning idea, because, as Bergoglio adds, the “self-referential” Church tries to hold Jesus Christ within herself and does not let him not go out”.

“Jesus wants to go out into the street, not to be a prisoner of the past, to take new paths, to tread the earth, to go to the frontiers, to smell the sheep, the dust, the sweat and the tears, to listen to the cry of the people, to speak, to embrace , to embrace, to shake hands, to heal, to bless, to speak words of encouragement, to forgive, to console, to announce the Kingdom, to generate hope and joy, to give life, for he alone possesses the Spirit without measure. of so many prisons, that’s what Jesus seems to be saying,” says Bergoglio.

To the surprise of the whole world, Pope Francis celebrates his first ten years at the head of the Church.

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