Personalities of different confessions were invited by the episcopate to reflect on the papacy of Francis from an interreligious perspective

Ten years after the proclamation of Pope Francis, the Argentine Episcopal Conference (CEA) broadcast a set of reflections by thinkers and leaders of different cults, who were summoned to offer their “gratitude” towards the pontificate of Jorge Bergoglio, who will be ten years old on March 13.

Among the authors cited are references from the Jewish and Muslim world, leaders of evangelical churches, bishops and theologians. All had some experience of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue with Bergoglio, either as pope or in his previous role as archbishop in Buenos Aires.

Conversation with representatives of different faiths has always been a value for the Argentine priest and a fundamental aspect of “building peace”, according to Francisco’s thought. In one of the most critical moments of the social crisis of 2001, Jorge Bergoglio was one of the promoters of the initiative of the Argentinian dialogue table as well as over 1,700 religious leaders and civil society actors.

The document, titled “Francisco, 10 years old: Collection of ecumenical and interreligious reflections», consists of 28 pages and brings together a varied sample of particular views on the teaching and thought of Pope Francis, his gestures and his actions. You can read it in full on the CEA website.

Lia Zevino

Sociologist, adviser to Pope Francis on interreligious dialogue. President of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO)

“He bowed down to receive the blessing of the People of God in his first appearance as Pope. A gesture of deep humility that marked our awareness of the secular responsibility that arises from Baptism and Confirmation. There would be no more room in his pontificate for clericalism.”

(Excerpt from the article ‘Towards a new conversion’)

Emile Cuda

She is a theologian specializing in Catholic and official social morality. Count with a honorary doctorate by the National University of Rosario. Pope Francis named her a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

“This sovereign position of Francisco, who does not allow himself to be fixed by the agenda either by the right or by the left, makes him recognized as world leader for peace (…) Its function is to be a bridge, not to take a position on one or the other of the parties. As pontiff bridge, you can communicate differences without replacing identities. (…) Francisco offered himself, for a decade, as a solid bridge on which to bear the heavy burden of differences. He is our pope and he is there to help us build unity.

(Excerpt from the article ‘Francis’ option is not for the poor’)

Ricardo Elia

He is the culture secretary of the Islamic Center of the Argentine Republic (CIRA). Doctor in History from the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences (University of Chile) and author of several books and essays on Muslim thought.

“On March 28, 2013, two weeks after assuming his pontificate, Pope Francis set an example for all humanity of how a believer should be humble with his neighbor and be at his service. This Holy Thursday, Francis washed the feet of a dozen young people at the Casal del Marno penal center for minors in Rome, including two women, an Italian Catholic and a Serbian Muslim. The 76-year-old pontiff explained that the washing of the feet “reproduces a symbol which is a caress of Jesus”.

(Excerpt from the article ‘Ten years of dialogue, harmony and peace between Jews, Christians and Muslims’)

Marcelo Figueroa

An evangelical Protestant, he shares a TV show with Jorge Bergoglio and Rabbi Abraham Skorka. These dialogues were published in book form with the title Above the sky and the earth. Pope Francis appointed him director of the Spanish edition of Diiraio Vaticano L’Osservatore Romano.

“During his forty apostolic journeys visiting more than sixty countries, in all cases he placed ecumenism as a fundamental part of his agendas. He has made many exclusively ecumenical trips, such as the last one to South Sudan. The Amazon Synod was ecumenical in its conception, development, and documentation of testimonies. He has held hundreds of meetings with major religious leaders from Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant and other religions or worldviews.

(Excerpt from the article ‘Ecumenical look at ten years of Francis’)

Christian Hooft

He chairs the Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches of the Republic (Aciera). He is an evangelical pastor and doctor of economics.

“Bergoglio had been the promoter and protagonist of interreligious dialogue in our country, following the premises of the Second Vatican Council, promoting the culture of encounter, something that he would continue to propose and consolidate as Pope Francis, from first through the “Brotherly Dialogues” expressed in the Abu Dhabi Declaration in the United Arab Emirates, on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Common Coexistence (February 2019) then through its third Encyclical, brothers allon fraternity and social friendship (2020), and which will mark a fundamental stage of his pontificate during these 10 years”.

(Excerpt from the article ‘Ten years of Francisco’)

Isaac Sacca

He is the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires, founder and president of Menora, a worldwide organization for Jewish youth.

“From my humble condition, of the Jewish faith, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his pontificate, I express my gratitude to him for his fraternal friendship and I bless him for his extraordinary and historic achievements. I pray for your success in the worthy task to which God calls you: to promote a more just and peaceful world”.

(Excerpt from the article ‘A Pope to improve the world’)

santiago kovadloff

He is an essayist, poet and translator of Portuguese language literature. Platinum Konex Award 2004 and 1994. Philosopher (UBA). Doctor Honoris Cause for UCES.

“Francis has given and continues to give, in this first decade of his pontificate, essential proofs of fraternal closeness to the Jewish people. All are nurtured by a renewed and certainly auspicious understanding of their own Christian faith.

(Excerpt from the article ‘Pope Francis and the Jews’)

Peter Torres

He is a Catholic theologian and professor. He chairs the Episcopal Commission for ecumenism, relations with Judaism and other religions at the CEA. In 2022, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Rafaela.

“Bergoglio’s surprise and fidelity to his friends opened doors to encounter and dialogue in various corners of the earth and in interreligious spaces and institutions that work for peace. I remember at the end of 2013, at a meeting of more than nine hundred religious leaders from all over the world in Austria, I could see that surprise had turned into joy”.

(Excerpt from the article ‘It is right and necessary to thank you Lord’)

Edward Garcia

Monsignor Eduardo García is bishop of San Justo. He was auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires during the archbishopric of Bergoglio.

“Pope Francis is not an invention of March 13: he is, believes and lives as pope what he was, believed and lived as priest and bishop. There is a coherence of life that makes all his gestures authentic, henceforth reinforced by the special grace of the Holy Spirit who gave him a manifest, visible and overflowing joy”.

Roberto Alvarez

Auxiliary Bishop of Comodoro Rivadavia. Graduate in Biblical Theology (UCA). Member of the Episcopal Commission for Biblical Catechesis and Ministry and the Episcopal Commission for Caritas.

“Today, I am grateful to this Pope who makes me look aside, who invites me to put myself behind him; because in the confines you can see the huge crowd that accompanies it: brother sun and sister moon, earth, the rejected, those who carry a history of failures and betrayals like Mary Magdalene and like Simon Peter, like me and as Francisco himself is in charge of saying about himself”.

(Excerpt from the article “François, tenth anniversary”)

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