The Pope was elected in March 2013. Since 2005, when he was the second most voted in the conclave he elected, he admitted the possibility of being chosen and thought of taking the name of John 24. It would be the sign that he was determined to shake the Catholic Church, as John 23 (1958-1963) had done.
Angelo Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice, was elected Pope at 76 and was believed to make a brief pontificate of transition. Soon was, because John 23 died in 1963, but nothing was transitory. He summoned an ecumenical council, approached the other Christian churches and decreased the pit that separated the Catholics from the Jews.
After John 23 came five popes. The council’s advances were contained, and Catholicism lost millions of faithful. The growth of evangelical churches in Brazil is an example of this migration. Breaking to the celibacy of the priests and the condemnation of the pill, the Catholic Church is experiencing a crisis of vocations and the faithful. To this was the multinational scandal of sexual abuse practiced by religious and covered by the hierarchy.
Hundreds of priests and dozens of bishops lost their cassock. The most explosive cases were those of the Archbishops of Boston and Washington, Cardinal Bernard Law and Theodore McCarrick. They embodied the power of purple. Friends of presidents, administered millionaire funds. The first complaint against McCarrick appeared in the 80s, and they abounded. The archbishop seemed armored and, in 2001, became a cardinal. In 2002, Law resigned, but his colleague resisted until 2006. Nine years later, he lost his caution and died on the 3rd, at the age of 94.
Bergoglio wanted to be John 24 but for some reason he would have heard a request from his colleague, the Brazilian (1934-2022), to think about the poor and called Francis. Bergoglio changed his mind, but did not forget her. Last year, speculating about the next pontificate, Francisco did not discuss cardinals, but tried to predict the name of the new pontiff. He was cheering for a John 24.
Francis did not shake the church as John 23, but did what he can. He faced the Curia machine with a willingness to Benedict 16, leading him to renunciation. He had fierce opponents and reacted with courage. In 2024, Francisco, who had been a apostolic nuncio in Washington and was one step from the cardinal barrete.
In his 12 years of pontificate, Francisco in the next Conclave. In 2013, when Bergoglio was elected, there was a general surprise with the choice of an Argentine. In Brazil, reporter Gerson Camarotti had drawn attention to his name. After all, in the previous conclave he had been the second most voted.
If the next Pope takes the name of John 24, Francis will have left a symbolic legacy. Three questions, coming from Council 2 will continue before the Basilica of St. Peter. Namely:
1- The use of the contraceptive pill by the faithful.
2- The celibacy of the priests.
3- The extent of the power of the bishops and their national conferences in the conduct of church affairs.
Gift Link: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release seven free hits from any link per day. Just click on F Blue below.
