The situation could not be more mysterious. Pope Francis is currently in Gemelli Hospital, trying to recover from the complex chronic bronchitis he has been suffering from. A slight improvement was followed by a bronchospasm. The Pope is following medical instructions, remains lucid, continues making decisions, and has sent some important messages. This 88-year-old man is trying to rest, yet he does not stop working or praying. He remains attentive to global and ecclesial affairs.
The Roman Curia is operating as usual. The prophets of doom, who expected to uncover secret meetings preparing for a future conclave, have been left disappointed. The work of the Vatican continues uninterrupted. The only noteworthy activity outside of the daily routine has been the Rosary we in the Curia have prayed in St. Peter’s Square over the past week, asking for the health of Francis, the “pastor” of all humanity.
I am aware that “pastor of humanity” is not an official papal title. Despite its imperfection, what I seek to emphasize is the fatherhood with which Francis has embraced not only the Catholic Church but the entire world. A father loves all his children, and he seeks in particular to embrace the one who is most distant or wounded. This is how Francis leads; this is how the Gospel works.
The situation is mysterious because, at the same time as the Pope’s illness, some of the world’s greatest international tensions are intensifying. The suffering Ukrainian people now face even greater uncertainty about their future as they watched, in real-time, the recent discussion between Presidents Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office. In the Gaza Strip, destruction and death continue among its inhabitants, while some express a desire for transforming the area into the “Riviera of the Middle East” after totally expelling the Palestinians. Other social conflicts are popping up left and right.
It is as if a virus is spreading across different spheres—a virus with a strong capacity to adapt and to infiltrate both large and small groups. It is the virus of division, of explicit or covert violence, of brute force replacing justice and goodness. Politics, always driven by interests of various kinds, is at times overwhelmed by a pollution that, among other effects, dulls reason and neutralizes the heart.
The most serious consequence of this illness is when it succeeds in eclipsing an entire community. The tale The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen sought to illustrate this phenomenon and to offer a moral lesson: the obvious can be obscured so that the powerful may continue to be applauded.
Pope Francis is one of the few world leaders who, with both charity and clarity, helps us to recognize the truth—both the truth of our own selfishness and the truth that offers us reasons for hope. His courageous voice in defense of all, especially the most fragile and vulnerable, does not come from a simplistic or naïve “goodness.” On the contrary, it stems from the conviction that what is truly human and Christian, both in personal and social life, is the radical choice for fraternity—another name for Charity, the theological virtue that allows us to patiently build a more inclusive and peaceful society, without betraying truth and justice.
Pope Francis, how much we need your presence and your voice!
This article is translated from the original Spanish.
Image: Pope Francis, March 13, 2013: photo taken from St. Peter’s Square, just after the pope’s election. By Tenan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25132755
Rodrigo Guerra López is the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Originally from Mexico City, he graduated in philosophy from the Free Popular University of the State of Puebla, Mexico; he was then awarded a higher degree in university humanism from the Ibero-American University, Mexico, and a doctorate in philosophy from the International Academy of Philosophy of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
He has held the role of academic coordinator of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute in Mexico City and has served as professor of metaphysics, bioethics, and philosophy of law at the PanAmerican University, Mexico. In 2013 he held the Karol Wojtyla Memorial Lectures at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.
From 2004 to 2007 he directed the Observatorio Socio Pastoral of the Latin American Episcopal Council. In 2008 he founded the Centro de Investigación Social Avanzada (CISAV), of which he is professor-researcher of the Division of Philosophy and member of the Consejo de Gobierno.
He is a member of the theological commission of the Latin American Episcopal Council and of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and is the author of numerous publications in the field of anthropology, bioethics, and social philosophy.
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