This last month of the year will mark the first anniversary of the death of the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Then this same magazine was kind enough to publish a text I wrote about the German pontiff, which was entitled "Benedict, a misunderstood".. I believe this is a heading equally applicable to its successor.
On December 17, the Pope Francis turned 87 years old. In recent months, news about the Pontiff's state of health has multiplied and worsened, as is logical for a person of advanced age.
Last November 26, the Pope recited the Sunday Angelus from the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, broadcasting the images on the screens of a St. Peter's Square full of pilgrims. A lung inflammation prevented him from leaning out of the window of the Apostolic Palace, something he had not stopped doing even in the hardest moments of his confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was the solemnity of Christ the KingThe Church proposes for the meditation of the faithful the 25th chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, with its consideration of the Last Judgment. A providential coincidence because it is, as he has affirmed on several occasions, the Holy Father's favorite Gospel passage, together with the discourse on the Beatitudes. With a visibly tired face and with Monsignor Braida acting as a loudspeaker for his words, the Pope recalled that true kingship is mercy.
Although we have been listening to Francis speak of compassion and tenderness for ten years, although he has reminded us countless times that he wants a poor Church, with open doors and a field hospital, although he has managed to incorporate words like "periphery" into our vocabulary, there are still many Catholic environments where it is still not fully understood that the evangelizing style proposed by the Pope does not seek security but dialogue, initiating processes and going out to meet people. With a vision of the world and of the Church proper to a young person. A young man of 87 years old.
