A copy of the book “El pastor”
By Benedetta Capelli
Feb 26 2023
From ‘El jesuita’ (the Jesuit), written in 2010, to ‘El Pastor’ (the pastor), a book which is currently being published in Argentina. Francesca Ambrogetti, former head of Ansa in Argentina, and Sergio Rubin, of the daily paper El Clarin, return to the figure of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. In their first book they had collected the reflections of the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, whereas in this second one the approach is about the magisterium of Pope Francis: the challenges faced in the ten years of his pontificate and future prospects such as ‘revitalising the proclamation of the Gospel,’ the Pontiff says, ‘reducing Vatican centralism, outlawing paedophilia… and fighting economic corruption’. A government programme, he emphasises, that “is to execute what was declared by the cardinals in the general congregations on the eve of the conclave”.
Nineteen chapters and a prologue signed by Pope Francis in which, he writes, ‘I must acknowledge one virtue to Francesca and Sergio: their perseverance’. The journalists offer an analysis of the magisterium through periodic interviews conducted over 10 years. Many topics are covered: from issues relating to migration, the defence of life, the impact of the reforms of the Roman Curia, to child abuse. On this point, Francis emphasises that his pontificate ‘will largely be evaluated by how he has dealt with this scourge’. Then, he speaks of marriage and the family, the threatened ‘common home’, the ‘female genius’, ‘careerism’ in the Church. On homosexuality, Pope Francis emphasises: ‘those who have suffered rejection by the Church, I would like to make it known that they are people in the Church’.
The Gospel to convert a mentality
Politics is one of the central themes. ‘Yes, I do politics,’ the Pope replies, ‘because everyone must do politics. And what is politics? A way of life for the polis, for the city. What I do not do, nor should the Church do, is party politics. But the Gospel has a political dimension, which is to transform the social, even religious, mentality of people” so that it is directed to the common good. Another strong theme concerns the economy, Francis reiterates that the beacon to follow is the Social Doctrine of the Church, that his is not a condemnation of capitalism but it is necessary, as John Paul II indicated, to follow a ‘social market economy’. Today, he adds, finance prevails and wealth is less and less participatory. “What we can all agree is that the concentration of wealth and inequality have increased. And that there are many people starving.”
Clarity in Vatican finances
Pope Francis then dwells on the Vatican’s financial affairs, defending the good faith of the “vast majority” of the Church’s members. “But it cannot be denied,” he says, “that some clerics and many, I would say, false lay ‘friends’ of the Church have contributed to misappropriating the movable and immovable patrimony, not of the Vatican, but of the faithful”.
Referring then to the affair of the London property, he emphasised that it was precisely in the Vatican that “the suspicious purchase” was detected. “I rejoiced,” says the Pope, “because it means that today the Vatican administration has the resources to shed light on the ugly things that happen inside”. On State-Church relations, then, he says he defends “the secularity of the State, not the secularism that, for example, does not allow religious images in public spaces”.
Ready to go to China
Concerning Argentina, the Pope emphasises that “accusations of Peronism are a commonplace” and calls on trade unions to defend the dignity of workers and their rights. He also maintains that his intention to travel to the country “remains valid”. ‘It is unfair to say I don’t want to go’. Regarding the agreement between the Holy See and China, the Pope says he is aware of the problems and sufferings, showing himself willing to go to the Asian country: “Tomorrow, if it were possible!”.
The Church is not a ‘mail-order’ mother
The Pope finally confesses to having had crises of faith, overcome with God’s help. “In any case,” he adds, “a faith that does not put us in crisis is a faith in crisis. Just as a faith that does not make us grow is a faith that must grow’. On the Church of the future, he explains that closeness is the key to everything. The Church is a mother, and I do not know any mothers ‘by correspondence’. The mother gives affection, touches, kisses, loves. When the Church is not close to her children because she is busy with a thousand things or communicates with them through documents, it is as if a mother communicates with her children by letter’. – Vatican News
