VICTOR LACOMBE
SAO PAULO, SP (Folhapress) – Most of the world, it is not customary that LGBTQia+ activists and leftist parties celebrate the elevation of an archbishop from the Catholic Church to cardinal. Except, perhaps, in Italy. Progressives ‘reaction to Pope Francis’ decision to make Matteo Zuppi Cardeal was such that he led the Italian press to play: “Left in celebration -the chaplain of the Democratic Party [principal legenda de centro-esquerda do país] It is named Cardinal. ”
The fame of leftist that Zuppi, 69, cultivated in the media of his home country is not unfair. Very close to Francis and ardent defender of Bergoglio’s positions at the head of the Church, the religious born in Rome has never hidden his preference for a church open to all immigrants, LGBT and the poor people, important causes for the Argentine Pope to whom Zuppi today is one of the favorites to succeed.
The Archbishop of Bologna, however, goes a step beyond Francisco and defends a political action of the Church -which positions himself in favor of social justice and opposes the ultra -right and the “evil of nationalism, which today wears new clothes and contradicts the gospel.” This is also why it is close to a series of leftist political figures in Italy and opponent of ultra-right leader Matteo Salvini, vice-master-minister of government Giorgia Meloni.
The main source of friction between Zuppi and the Italian right is immigration. In a speech in 2019, the cardinal said that “populism is intolerant against certain groups that are the guarantee against totalitarianism: to say ‘first we and then they’ send us to the past,” and said that the Church “must propose, as an antidote to populism, humanism and humanitarianism, which are not synonymous with ingenuity, but a look at politics as a response to suffering.”
The cardinal became a favorite of the left (and right of the right) also for his strong media presence and skillful use of the media: in addition to speaking often at events of the Democratic Party, Zuppi usually gives interviews on Italian television and the church’s press agencies -when he was named Cardinal, the Diocese television program broadcast his trip by Rome train to receive the nomination.
Zuppi was also the protagonist of a documentary produced in 2019 by Italian journalist Emilio Marrese entitled “The Gospel According to Matteo Z”. The film follows the Archbishop routine, including its trip to bicycle work every day, in order to tell the story of Zuppi’s efforts to “make the vision of an open and welcoming church come true by Pope Francis.”
Critics of the cardinal often highlight the fact that behind his image of humility, there is an ambitious man who has worked over decades to reach the summit of the Catholic Church, cultivating his proximity to Francis and using the influence and prestige of the diocese of Bologna, one of the richest in the world. Since 2022, the archbishop has also been president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), equivalent to the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil).
If elected Pope, it is possible for Zuppi to deepen Francisco’s reforms and advance on lines that the Argentine was not prepared to cross. The Archbishop has already positioned itself in favor of the blessing to couples LGBT -and allowed its archdiocese to perform one of these blessings. He was also open to the end of the compulsory celibacy among priests, saying that the subject “is already being discussed” by the high level of the church.
Zuppi is also an advocate of Francisco’s positions on inequality and combat to climate change, as well as being in favor of the possibility that divorced and people in a second marriage can perform communion.
The chances that the Bologna Archbishop is the next occupant of St. Peter’s throne are not clear. In addition to being more on the left than any of the rivals, making it difficult to obtain two -thirds of the conclave votes, Zuppi does not speak other languages beyond the Italian, which can harm its reach with the rest of the world -special continents where Catholicism has been growing, such as Africa.
In his favor, the cardinal has his proximity to Francisco and influential position in the Vatican as president of the CIS. It is also one of the leaders of the community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay organization that operates in peace negotiations and social causes around the world -zuppi was directly involved with the agreement that ended the civil war in Mozambique in 1992.
