Ten lunges for a decade of Francisco
That afternoon it was raining heavily in Saint Peter's Square. It was already night when the future of the Pope who took over from Benedict XVI was glimpsed in the central loggia. His name was heard in Latin. Few knew Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires. Between the umbrellas the new Bishop of Rome was seen bowing, not only to receive the blessing of God, but also of the faithful present. A gesture that was followed by his later dream of a Church “poor for the poor”. Francisco got wet in every way, thus inaugurating a pontificate of entrepreneurial spirit that could be reflected in at least ten reforms that explain his appeal to outsiders and the resistance of not a few pre-conciliar nostalgics in the sacristies.
1. CURIA In the meetings prior to the conclave, the cardinals demanded to restructure the machinery of the Holy See that was guilty of elephantiasis and careerism. Under the maxim of "true power is service" he has reorganized all departments, has replaced "for life" posts in senior positions with five-year contracts... All this has been compiled in the constitution "Praedicate Evangelium" which approved last year.
2. ECONOMY. Francis picked up a Vatican, not only bankrupt, but financially corrupt. The caliber of these changes is such that, for example, the IOR – the Vatican Bank – has ceased to be the tax shelter and payments in any Roman entity are made by card to avoid envelopes. Among other measures, freehand works contracts have been vetoed and the closest thing to a public tender has been established.
3. THE ABUSES. In February 2019, he convened an unprecedented summit with the presidents of all the Episcopal Conferences of the world exclusively to apply the so-called "zero tolerance" against this scourge, not only speaking of sin but of crime, putting the victims at the center, reformulating the canon law to give no truce to predators.
4. VATICAN II. Theologians see Francis as the successor of Paul VI in his imprint when applying the Council. An example is the siege of the Tridentine mass. Faced with what he calls "ideological traditionalism", Bergoglio opts for a renewal based on tradition: "Fidelity is change."
5. SOCIAL AGENDA The Social Doctrine has become a priority on the agenda of the Argentine pontiff, that is, "the defense of life and all lives", from abortion to euthanasia, but with priority attention to the poorest : migrants and refugees, victims of trafficking...
6. DIVORCED. He is paying changes from his commitment to discriminated groups in the Church. A single footnote in the exhortation "Amoris laetitia" opened the door to communion for the divorced and remarried.
7. GAY. "Who am I to judge?" This question that he launched a few months after arriving in Rome has become the axis of a new era in the reception of the LGTBI collective. He has not changed a single line of the catechism, but he has eliminated all condemnation and pathological reference.
8. INTEGRAL ECOLOGY. "Laudato si" is the first encyclical by a Pope to call Catholics to commit themselves to the environment, to "the Common Home and those who inhabit it." It reflects his desire to connect the Church with the problems of the people and not "pontificate" in the abstract.
9. SYNODALITY. Under this word are hidden the bases of the Church of the future. She has launched an unprecedented Synod with the aim of stopping identifying the institution only with cardinals, bishops, priests and religious, so that ordinary Christians have a voice and are co-responsible in action and decision.
10. JOY. His programmatic encyclical "Evangelii Gaudium" was not only a road map, but a reflection of the close and joyful character of a pontiff, who wanted to put aside the image of an inquisitive Church in which he reserves the right of admission by the " field hospital.
