A most refreshing “gift” of
the Holy Spirit has come to us in the election of Pope Francis to the Papacy
last March 14, 2013 – 14 days after the resignation of Pope Emeritus Benedict
XVI. The first thing that struck me of the words uttered by Pope Francis as he
made his first public appearance was his reference to himself – “My Brother
Cardinals looked for a Bishop of Rome, and it seems they have found one now,
but after going to the “ends of the earth!”
This seems to me the first of the many “reforms” that he will be doing –
go to the origins of the Office of the Papacy!
But what does he think about
his office as Pontiff? Maybe we can find
some answers in these excerpts from his words to the diplomatic corps yesterday,
March 22, at the Sala Regia at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
He said: "One of the titles of the Bishop of Rome is
Pontiff, that is, a builder of bridges with God and between people. My wish is that the
dialogue between us should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such
a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a
brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced!
My own origins
impel me to work for the building of bridges. As you know, my
family is of Italian origin; and so this dialogue between places and cultures a
great distance apart matters greatly to me, this dialogue between one end of
the world and the other, which today are growing ever closer, more
interdependent, more in need of opportunities to meet and to create real spaces
of authentic fraternity.
In this work, the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build
bridges between people while forgetting God. But the converse is also true: it
is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people."
(…)
If you want to read the complete text, you may visit this site.
Additionally there are other "details" he is slowly reforming. See this one for instance.
To end, one of the main concerns of our new Pope is care for creation. May I remind you then that Earth Hour is today March 23. Let us "Dare to World to Save the Planet. Switch off all lights tonite at 8.30 pm. Join the global community at www.earthhour.org
