During his intense and exhausting visit to Canada, Pope Francis is experiencing something that, mysteriously, is typical of the ministry of any of the Apostle Peter’s successors: being the subject of contradiction and, at times, ridicule. A certain area shakes Francis to the point of humiliation, as he insists on apologizing for events that took place more than a century ago (had he not done the same to St. John Paul II when he was pardoned). The 2000 Jubilee?) Others, on the other hand, warn you not to try to make excuses and then leave without leaving. Neither anyone nor anyone understands what the Church is, the living and wounded body that has walked through history since the resurrection of Jesus, sometimes with brilliance and others in agony, but always with each generation. Walks with men and women.
Sadly, the forces of the world troubling Pedro are not predictable. What is really sad is that the humiliation and reprimand comes from within. Of course, Saint Paul, already the smartest and most belligerent of the apostles, said, with irony to those who argued with him, that the place of ridicule and ridicule was reserved for the apostles: “You, how clever”, he said. Tarsus said to his accusers, “What fools we (the apostles) are.” There is no better answer than this for some people who always know what to do, but never help anything.
The Pope is doing what is appropriate for his office in Canada, and does not bring worldly glory or recognition, sometimes even to his children. But Francis, like his predecessors, listens to the same words of Jesus: “What is yours? Follow me”.
