The book examines what the institution of the papacy is and what it can become after the resignation of Benedict XVI and the pontificate of Pope Francis.
Newsroom (28/11/2021 4:00 PM Gaudium Press) Ten days ago, Cardinal Zuppi was on a panel for the Nov. 18 presentation of the book “Cosa Resta del Papato? Il futuro della Chiesa dopo Bergoglio” (“What Remains of the Papacy? The future of the Church after Bergoglio”) by the Italian Vaticanist Francesco Antonio Grana.
The book reconstructs the last part of Benedict XVI’s pontificate, revealing that Italy’s then-president, Giorgio Napolitano, was among the few people aware of the forthcoming resignation. The book also offers a glimpse of what the next conclave might look like.
The cardinal’s words at the book launch were cautious as he began by reflecting on the book’s title. He then focused on the Statio Orbis of March 27, 2020: the solitary prayer in St. Peter’s Square where Pope Francis asked for an end to the pandemic. Zuppi said that on that occasion, “for the first time, Ecclesialese — the language spoken among us priests — became the common language.”
Speaking of the crisis in the Church, Zuppi said that “we can spend a lifetime arguing among ourselves, fueling an internal conflict. But the point is that it is a crisis, generative of something new.”
He also noted how John XXIII was considered “a simpleton, who seemed to impoverish the greatness of the Church,” and that Benedict XVI “defined himself as a humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard.”
According to Zuppi, Pope Francis is not a pope who is diminishing the institution’s importance. Instead, he is giving it a new impetus. So much so that there is “anything but an air of resignation. In the many decisions he has made, and in the processes he has initiated, there is a great awareness and sense of the future.” and he adds: “Pope Francis tells us that there is so much to do now, and he helps us not to have a renunciatory attitude, as a retreating minority. His significant reform is pastoral and missionary conversion. He allows us to place ourselves in an evangelical, straightforward way, close to the people, and shows us some priorities for a Church that speaks to the heart. He helps us to be more Church, in a world that makes identity fade.”
