After the seventh general congregation of Cardinals, held today in the Vatican, the Venezuelan cardinal Baltazar Porras reflected on the future of the Church, stating that in these meetings there is “a certain consensus that there are things that do not admit reverse” after Francisco’s pontificate.
From Rome, the purple told ACI Press that the Catholic Church must “respond where the world’s Catholics are, which is in the south and not in Europe.”
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Cardinal Porras, 80 years old – for which he will not participate in the conclave – explained that this does not mean a contempt for the millenary European Catholic tradition, but an opportunity to recognize that this wealth “is at the service of these new peoples, and that they live it with joy and hope even in the midst of great difficulties.”
“I think it will not be very long,” said Cardinal Porras when consulted on the possible duration of the conclave, which will begin on May 7. This opinion contrasts with that of the German Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, who hopes that the next conclave will last more than the one who chose Pope Francis in 2013, which was relatively brief.
This morning, from Your Instagram accountalso Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas highlighted the growing worldwide expectation around the papal election, ensuring that for believers “it should not be simple curiosity” but an opportunity to pray more intensely.
The general congregations, according to Cardinal Porras, have been developed “in a serene and freedom climate” that has facilitated that the Cardinal College “get to know.”
“These days we are in the novenarian for the death of Pope Francis and, in perspective, (we can) ask because the next Pope follows that path that marked someone born in our own continent. With the tribulation that our peoples can live, what they want is that: that closeness, that openness to all,” he said.
For the purple Venezuelan, the next Holy Father must “have the strength to accompany mostly the weakest.”
“Therefore, let’s pray in all these next few days (…) so that the light of the Holy Spirit illuminates them (to the cardinals) and give us the Pope who requires the world today, not just the Church,” he said.
Andrés Henríquez
I am a writer for ACI Press and correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I cover events of the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Latin America and the world. I have more than 6 years of experience in bilingual media. In addition, in Venezuela I have worked from various fields for freedom and respect for fundamental rights in the country. I am a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.