Pope Francis. In the cover photo, Father Arturo Sosa.
«We are looking for another man of God, with a universal look. That knows how to start recognizing that the differences are not barriers but the possibility of enrichment and encounter, allowing everyone to receive the merciful face of God in their culture “: it is the profile of the next pope traced by Father Arturo Sosa, the Jesuit general. After a letter and a video on the death of the Conframello Papa, Sosa met the journalists, on the 24th morning, in the general curia, and in the evening he celebrated a suffrage mass in the Church of the Jesus.
Francesco, says the Venezuelan Jesuit, 77 years old, who has been guided the company since 2016, “was a normal person. And he felt free. He knew his limits, he didn’t believe he is always right. It was not a reformer, but was consistent with the reform of the Church in which it was rooted, that of the Vatican Council II ». In the evening homily he explained to the confreres and the faithful who crowded the church where the founder of the company is buried, that Mario Jorge Bergoglio “was forged in the experience of the spiritual exercises of Sant’Ignazio”, who are a key to understand his life and the style of his service to the people of God and to the whole humanity. The centrality of the exercises in Francesco’s life, Sosa said, is in fact testified by “his stubborn condition of practicing and invoking dialogue, as a fundamental tool to restore authentic relationships, to overcome conflicts and facilitate reconciliation”. The dialogue, for Francesco, “starts from the recognition of the differences and is the beginning of walking together to find a shared solution”.
Francesco did not fear Francesco. Indeed “he helped put the different positions on the table. He endured criticisms and opposite opinions, but caused the dialogue with people who thought it different from him. He gave legitimacy to the discussion in the Church, asking to dialogue starting from different points of view to get to others who are not the initial ones ».
It is the experience that asked the heads of state, to the political authorities, invoking “peace peace in every occasion”, but also to the ecclesial community. “While the spaces of democratic participation shrink all over the world, Francesco has pushed the Church towards synodality, that is, to expand spaces of participation to become a people walking towards the promise of a world in which we can live fraternally”.
“Principle and foundation”, the heart of the Ignazian exercises, I was the fulcrum of the life of Mario Jorge Bergoglio: «His life was based on the rock that is Christ, not on the sand of his ideas and his intuitions. God as the only absolute. For this he has never hidden his fragility, nor has he fell into the temptation to pretend to be strong. His profound motivation in life was to put into practice the will of God, contribute to the transformation of humanity to make this world a house worthy for all human beings ».
The inner joy of the Risen Crucifix, said Father Sosa, “took away the fear of witnessing what changed his life. Elected to the Ministry of Petrino Francesco he was not afraid to go counter -current in defense of human rights, the struggle for the care of the environment, with words and gestures he invited us to welcome migrants as brothers and sisters, to make us close to those in prison, to those who are discarded by society. His voice has risen to peace to underline how every war is a failure of humanity ».
The experience of the spiritual exercises of Sant’Ignazio, testified by the life of Mario Jorge Bergoglio, “culminates in the sensitivity that allows you to find God in all things; Contemplation to reach love opens all the senses to the ability to perceive the presence of the Lord in all aspects of personal and social life, in nature and history. That’s why words and gestures, the lifestyle, the recognition of one’s fragility, leads to store one’s trust in God and only in God ».
A story, that between the first Jesuit pope and the company of Jesus, who also met dark moments. “When Pope Francis was elected,” Sosa recalled at the press conference, “I was in Venezuela, in a country at the border with Colombia. Jorge Bergoglio was a figure who had aroused controversy in Latin America. We wondered which Francesco he meant: Saverio, Borgia, Régis? St. Francis of Assisi was not a reference for the company, but inspirer for many. Father Adolfo Nicolas, then general, immediately made himself in contact and his disposal, establishing a fraternal relationship, which is testified by the many meetings that Francesco then had with the Jesuits, in all his travels. And with the visits here in the general Curia. Francesco has never hidden his Jesuit identity. Called to the Ministry of Petrino, he accompanied the company of Jesus as Pope in the discernment of apostolic preferences and he served it. Today we leave this time challenged to be really founded in our charisma. Thanking for Francesco and for Mario Jorge Bergoglio ».
The next Pope? «It is the Holy Spirit who has the task of inspiring the election of Peter’s successor, not of Francesco. Each pontiff is chosen to wear the “fishing sandals”, of what Jesus has placed at the head of the community of his disciples ». As for the company “it was born to serve the mission of the Church under the direct direction of the Pope. The Jesuits make the vow of obedience to the Pope regarding the mission to be carried out. As soon as the new Pope is elected, we will put ourselves at his disposal, as we have done for more than 450 years. Our brother Pope Francis is now totally in the hands of God. We make sure that his testimony continues to inspire the Church, to share the redeemed mission of Jesus, that the company wants in all to love and serve “.
