With the improvement of the conditions of Pope Francis, the news coming from the Gemelli Polyclinic have less prominence in the international press. But the attention remains high. Obviously in Argentina, Bergoglio’s birthplace. In the Argentine newspaper La Nación, Elisabetta Piqué he writes that
“A moderate optimism is perceived”, so much so that “the Vatican joked about the charity effect of the prayer marathon of the Rosary for the health of the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square, which began on Monday, led every evening at 9 pm by a cardinal residing in Rome”.
The Spanish newspaper El País He underlines Francesco’s industriousness despite health problems. “From the moment of hospitalization”, he writes Iñigo Dominguez“The Vatican has constantly reported that the Pope is lucid, he normally eats, gets up from the bed and spends part of the day sitting. In addition, with the exception of last weekend, when the crisis broke out, it maintained a certain rhythm of work. He has signed documents and issued decrees with decisions of all kinds, such as appointments, canonizations and even a modification of the Vatican standards. On Monday he had a work meeting with the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and his substitute for general affairs, Edgar Peña Parra. They are evident signs that continues to govern from the hospital, also to quell the voices of a hypothetical discharge, following the example of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013 when he found himself without the strength to complete his mandate “.
The French newspaper Mondi However, he wonders about Francesco’s future skills to fully perform his functions. “The hospitalization of the pontiff, who is both the spiritual guide of 1.4 billion Catholics and the head of state of the Vatican city, has reopened the questions about his ability to perform his functions. Canon law does not provide for any serious problem that can compromise its lucidity. The news also rekindled the speculations on the possibility that Francesco resign, even if he declared on several occasions that this moment has not yet arrived. “
This theme is taken from a June article by New York Times. “Francesco’s disease raises a difficult question: who rules if the Pope cannot do it? The Vatican says that Pope Francis has continued to make decisions and is improving, but his two -week hospitalization asks uncomfortable and unanswered questions about the decision -making process of the Vatican.Tuttavia, the entire proof of his long stay at Gemelli, the longest of his pontificate, without public appearances, has awakened old concerns among the experts and the observers of the Church on who would rule the Church if this would go to the church if he would govern fall into a coma or be otherwise incapable “.
In the French Catholic newspaper The Croix The journalist and writer is interviewed Michel Coolwhich underlines the importance of the Pope’s word and testimony in a world context like today: “I think there are many reasons why Pope Francis like Catholics. Since the beginning of his pontificate, twelve years ago, we have accustomed ourselves to his presence, his voice, his personal style, which is very characteristic and distinct from his predecessors, authentic, free. I have the feeling that we are experiencing a return of the tragic. The Pope, with his way of being, represents a form of spiritual resistance in the face of despair and fear, in the face of the return of war, the rise of populism and nationalism … is “someone good”, to use an expression to me dear, to which to cling to an uncertain era. At a time when evil seems to gain ground, we can feel, in the void of its absence, a weakening of hope among the Catholics. From a spiritual point of view, it is rather symbolic that this happens in the middle of a jubilee year, at a time when Catholics are testing “to hope for all hope”, to use the Pauline expression. Faced with very worrying global realities, we are asked to hope for the Christian faith, even if the extraordinary preacher who is Pope Francis is absent. This detachment destabilizes us. At the same time, it represents a powerful spiritual challenge, which invites us to demonstrate maturity in our relationship with the world.
