Father Arturo Sosa, head of the
Jesuit order that boasted in Francis its first ever pope, told a
press conference Thursday that the next pope should be another
universal one like Francis but "not like a head of
multinationals like McDonald's."
Sosa stressed that Francis was "a man of God, of the Gospel" and
in line with the the reforming Second Vatican Council.
Now, he said, the Society of Jesus is ready to offer its
immediate obedience, typical of the fourth vow of the order and
in a 400-year tradition, to the next heir of St Peter.
Father Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus told the
press conference to take stock of the pontificate of Francis,
the first Jesuit Pope in history, was cagey on the impending
conclave while still giving some indication to the cardinals
called to choose the new pontiff.
"We are certainly looking for another man of God - he said - and
then very importantly, a person who has a universal vision that
is not an international vision like that of multinationals like
McDonald's, universal means that it is the starting point, it is
the recognition of differences in culture, history, religious
experience.
"Differences are not barriers but possibilities for meeting,
this universal vision is very important when, today, the
universality of the world is at risk".
According to Sosa, Francis made the reforms that "had been
prepared by the Second Vatican Council, there are many things
that we have experienced with the synodal process, he started
many processes and he knew that his life would not be enough to
finish them".
Among these, also controversial issues such as the opening to
China and the document "Fiducia supplicans", on blessings for
gay people.
On China in particular, Fr. Sosa hopes that we will move
forward: "Pope Francis has been very committed to this, but not
only him, the entire Chinese Church is concerned, a big step has
been taken, today we have a church in China capable of being
present in a normal way, a reality that is alive, today it is
not a persecuted church, I think that along this line with
wisdom and prudence of the times we will move forward".
On "Fiducia supplicans", he explained: "I think that the
problems were not created by the Pope, the problems were there,
Francis' great contribution was to put the differences of
positions on the table and not play games behind his back, to
face the problems and not only did he tolerate criticism, but he
himself provoked dialogue with people who were different from
him, and he made decisions according to what he then evaluated".
"If we talk about a synodal church - he adds - there will always
be differences, they must come to the surface, to give the
possibility of discerning even contrary opinions. A dialoguing
Church seems to me much more interesting than a Church where
things fall from above".
On the issue of abuse and in particular the very thorny case of
the artist and former Jesuit priest, Fr. Marko Rupnik, found
guilty of multiple rape, he observed: "The Pope recognized his
limits, even his slowness in some cases, his mistakes, we will
try to overcome them but the issue is not whether we should give
him a medal but learn from the criticisms and mistakes, in the
case of abuse I think that the Church today is not at the same
point where it was at the beginning of his pontificate, it is
more advanced".
Taking stock of the Society of Jesus itself, Fr. Sosa observes:
"It seems to me that the Society is now more challenged in its
own charisma, the report ends by thanking the Lord for Francis
and for Jorge Mario Bergoglio".
And when asked if the Society will begin a process of
canonization of the recently deceased Pope, he responds
cautiously: "The Church has a wise tradition, before someone is
declared a saint, you have to wait a while, you can't say the
next day, you wait five, ten years, you mature, you know the
story, and then there is an important moment: popular devotion,
if it is a person who inspires the memory of the people of God,
time is important before declaring a person a saint, what we
must take from him is that we others, we must be saints in
everyday life".
photo: Sosa with Italian President Sergio Mattarella
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