Cardinals call for prayer for the ConclavePapables: much ado about nothingWhat do cardinals talk about in general congregations?The whole Church is watching these days, prior to the ConclaveWe pray, we read the news, we talk in circles of friends..... We pray, we read the news, we talk in circles of friends... In this climate, I came across a curious video, which is circulating in the networks, entitled "He has as many doubts as I do".
In this video, a journalist echoes the testimony of an Argentine writer and poet, named Roberto Altifano, who treated and helped the famous writer Jorge Luis Borges, in which he relates the opinion that this universal Argentine author had of the then 26-year-old Jesuit priest, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Roberto Altifano transmits this confidence of Borges, which I take from the video and, therefore, not verbatim but from memory and summarizing: "Roberto, how strange and disconcerting the people of God are sometimes. There are two priests who visit me quite often and who have nothing to do with each other. One is Guillermo, a priest I inherited from my devoted mother. Another is Jorge, a Jesuit chemist, with whom I have a great friendship. Guillermo insists on converting me and cannot admit that there is an agnostic creed for which I am inclined. It's time you put an end to your doubts, Jorge, he repeats. For Sundays, he invites me to go to mass, have lunch with his congregation brothers at his house and then go to soccer. Father Bergoglio is an intelligent and sensible person, you can talk about any subject with him because he is a great reader, but he observed that he has as many doubts as I do. My mother would not like this...".
This testimony of Jorge Luis Borges It seems to me that it defines well the way of being and acting, in dealing with people, of the future Pope Francis, who has just left us, and reflects well, moreover, a whole ecclesial epoch.
I also read a few days ago an article by the famous journalist George Weigel. In his last interview with Pope Francis, held at the end of 2016, when Weigel presented him with his perplexity about some of his decisions, Pope Francis replied, "Oh, discussions are fine."
I think they are two testimonies that reflect a facet of the way of thinking and dealing with people of our beloved Pope Francis. We do not know what the character and personal treatment of the future Pope will be like. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former Vicar of the Pope for the Diocese of Rome and President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, has outlined some lines for the next pontificate, which seem to me to be accurate: charity, doctrinal firmness, good governance and unity.
