«The Pontificate of Pope Francis? It cannot be reduced to an image gallery.” Father Antonio Spadarounder-secretary of the Dicastery for culture and education, former director of Civiltà Cattolica from 2011 to 2023 and one of the men closest to Bergoglio, fears “the risk of collecting snapshots and relegating Bergoglio’s legacy to a photographic archive, when in reality it is something much deeper and not immediately visible”.
Father Spadaro, what remains of his Pontificate one year after his death?
«His diagnosis of the world remains: the “third world war in pieces”, formulated in 2014 upon returning from Korea, was not an impressionistic slogan but a prophetic reading that time has confirmed. The awareness remains that the world is crumbling and that the Church cannot respond with nostalgia for order, but with mercy, brotherhood, closeness, peace. Discernment remains as an alternative to ideology and rigidity. Synodality remains as a form of a Church that listens. The belief remains that the reform is not a technical rearrangement but a conversion. What remains is the exit from the regime of Christianity, that is the rejection of a Christianity allied with power and the choice of a Church at the service of all. But perhaps the most important thing that remains is the “traumatic” dimension of his pontificate: an evangelical backlash that gave a shock to a sort of ecclesial homeostasis. And the more traumas are removed, the more deeply they act. Francis was not the nice pope of the little picture with the smile: his pontificate was lived consciously linked to the drama of history. Finally, his unique way of acting rather than reacting remains: faced with the tragedies of the world, he never allowed himself to be dragged into the narrative constructed by others, but always constructed his own – as when, in the face of the Gaza crisis, the phone call to the parish priest proved to be as powerful as any geopolitical statement.”
What are the irreversible processes it has opened?
«The task of the reformer according to Bergoglio was not to “cut off heads” or conquer spaces of power, but to start processes – according to his fundamental principle that time is superior to space. There are at least three main irreversible processes. First of all mercy as a pastoral horizon. The teaching linked to mercy – from the extraordinary Jubilee of 2016 to the entire pastoral approach – has penetrated deeply into the life of the Church. There is no going back from this vision. It is something now embodied within the Church, perhaps without us even being fully aware of it. Secondly synodality. The synodal path showed a Church that walks through history and is open to all sensitivities. The very method of the synod – listening before reacting, making the most of the other’s opinion – is a structural gift to the Church. In the synods it was understood that it is no longer possible to give homogeneous and equal pastoral responses for the whole world: theological differences are increasingly profound, and the synodal tables are the way to bring them into dialogue. In the end the Church as a field hospital. The image formulated in the interview I gave him in 2013 – when Francis said that it was not time to control sugar and cholesterol, but to save lives – has encountered obstacles, but is now an unavoidable point of reference. It generated great fascination and great repulsion, because it touched on the fear of losing identity. But Francis had an idea of the Gospel as a treasure to be spent, not to be kept in the bank.”
How has the Church changed in recent years?
«The Church has changed profoundly, even if not always visibly. The pontificate was one of fruits and seeds, but above all of seeds that will ripen in the forms that will be seen. The Church has emerged from a regime of Christianity: it has stopped thinking of itself as a natural ally of power and has begun to conceive itself as serving everyone, without borders and without customs. Francis had the perception that God’s action in history happens everywhere, and that the Church’s task is to recognize it, not limit it. For this reason he came into contact with all the healthy forces of history, even those apparently most distant from the ecclesial perimeter. The relationship with internal diversity has changed. While once the bishops shared a mens Romana, a common romanitas, today theand theologies develop in different continents and cultures with ever greater autonomy. This richness of difference has become a challenge that the Church has begun to face, even if this is at the same time the greatest gift and the greatest challenge of the contemporary Church. The relationship with conflict and opposition has also changed: Francis has shown that the adversary is not an enemy. His visit to the sick Bonino, his friendship with Scalfari — gestures in which the message was clear: you can have opposing ideas and fight for different visions, while remaining friends. A legacy for the world, not just for the Church.”
What is the dearest image you have of Pope Francis?
«Well, as soon as you ask me, so many come to mind. The personal ones are more linked to physical proximity, for example in open conversations during the flights of his apostolic journeys. Francesco communicated a lot with his physical presence. The same goes for conversations with Jesuits during travels. I was struck by its immediacy, its spontaneity and density of sharing. On a public level I would say the Mass celebrated in Ciudad Juarez just 80 meters from the border between the USA and Mexico, in which he created a single liturgical assembly capable of overcoming walls. Then the gesture of bend down and kiss the feet of representatives of South Sudan’s opposing factions came to the Vatican to discuss peace. In the end the visit to Bangui, where he opened the Holy Door and where he took the ride in the Popemobile doing rise the local imam in a time of serious conflicts between Muslims and Christians. But now that I’ve said them, many more come to mind. One last snapshot: we were flying towards the Colombia. It was night. I was lying down to sleep. I woke up and, opening my eyes, I saw the light of his seat on on the left. I remained watching him intently. He had the breviary and was praying in silence and darkness. It’s a simple image, but it stayed in my heart.”
