The New Pope

One of the most important pieces of news this week will undoubtedly be who the next Pope will be. However much one has read about the cardinals in the conclave, it is very hard to predict who will occupy the chair of Peter. Because in the end only God knows who our next Pope will be.

Meanwhile, we Venezuelans have seen how, this past week, our Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino (who was rarely mentioned in the international media) has appeared in public again and again with the news of the president’s death. His attitude as a pastor to everyone, without political distinction, and his call for Venezuelans to unite as brothers and sisters at this time, continue the attitude that our “prince” of the Church has taken during these hard years, in which some have tried to sow hatred and division in the country.

Cardinal Urosa has become a true leader of Peace and reconciliation in our homeland. A pastor who has suffered in his own flesh public attacks, insults and slanders against a pastor of the Church never seen before in our history. As a good son of God, he has taught us that we must forgive at all times and that we must always be sowers of peace and joy. He has been a great defender of truth and of human rights, and he has called us to prayer, thereby helping (like all our bishops) the Catholic people, despite their political differences, to come together in the huge demonstrations of faith that our Holy Church has celebrated in every corner of the country, so that our people may be very close to God and the Blessed Virgin.

From the Youth Ministry, Carlos Flores (one of the young Venezuelans who were with Benedict XVI at World Youth Day Madrid 2011, representing Latin America) sent me his opinion of our Cardinal: “The Cardinal, as John Paul II and Benedict XVI did, has given priority in all his homilies and actions to the presence of young people and the need to share the young face of the Church. He is a man with a deep concern for the value of life and the recovery of values. A man who, together with young people, has shared their concern about the affective and sexual disorder we are living through. A man who, together with young people, has raised his voice to reject criminal violence in our communities. A man with a great desire for young people to walk hand in hand with Christ and build a path that leads them to holiness. He is a man who knows how to value the effort of those who show responsibility and commitment. A man who is concerned, and especially demanding, that the Eucharist be the center of our lives. For those of us who have known him, he has been a man who is close and always ready to accompany and encourage you in the mission he has entrusted to you. A man who has given our Archdiocese of Caracas immense apostolic zeal, with initiatives that fill us with joy: the Continental Evangelizing Mission, the 2nd Pilgrimage of the Nazarene through Caracas, the Proclamation of Our Lady of Coromoto as Principal Patroness, and the launch of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan. A man who, in my view, is a welcoming Father to his clergy and pays special attention to seminarians. A man who constantly calls young people to open their hearts to Jesus Christ by responding to the consecrated life. A man able to demand, but also to give.”

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know the Cardinal personally can testify that he is a very human person, attentive to the smallest details. A man of deep prayer, who works intensely and lives with absolute detachment from material things. His life is there to be given to God and to others. Our Cardinal has always passed on to us hope and the courage to keep going, bringing the word of God to ALL our Venezuelan brothers and sisters.

You say, Cardinal, that you would die of fright if you were named Pope. Well, I tell you that many Catholics who know you would also die of fright, because being Pope is not just any position; it is a true “divine burden” in which one’s whole life is worn out, to the very marrow, in that Mission. And, thinking selfishly, it would not suit us for you to be elected, because we would lose you at a time when we need you so much. But only God knows what may happen, and be ready when you come back, because the work we have here is and will be enormous. We take this opportunity to ask for your blessing, and please keep praying fervently to God for harmony and unity to shine in our beloved homeland, and for the Virgin of Coromoto to cover us with her mantle and lead us along a path of Justice and Peace for all. We are praying hard for you, for all the cardinals and for our next Pope.