As though preparing the faithful for changes,
he said: “There are sometimes shake-ups – there are movements that are
not part of the path: there are movements that pull us back.”
He
continued: “when we profess Christ without the cross, we are not
disciples of the Lord. We are worldly. We are bishops, priests,
cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.”
Yesterday morning the pope visited the basilica
of St Mary Major in Rome. He entered through a side door and prayed
before the icon of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani (Protectress of the
Roman People).
He also visited the basilica’s Sistine Chapel where St
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits of which Pope Francis is a
member, celebrated his first Mass.
Afterwards the pope asked to be taken to the
Domus Internationalis Paulus VI, where he stayed in the run-up to the
conclave.
“He then stopped in the office, greeted everyone and decided
to pay the bill for the room,” Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi
said later.
Cardinal Brady’s conclave
Yesterday in interviews at the Irish College in Rome it became
clear that Ireland’s Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady made
significant contributions during discussions among cardinals that
preceded this week’s conclave.
It is understood he spoke of the church’s
failures in dealing with child abuse, the necessity for greater
involvement of women in church governance, and that he emphaised that
what was required in a new pope was a man who could inspire people with
his practical Christianity, particularly love of the poor.
Yesterday Cardinal Brady recalled from such
discussions that it was said “age, experience or geographical
background, these are important [where a new pope was concerned] but not
all important.”
Concerns about age
Concerns about age
Indeed, when asked about concerns at Pope Francis being 76, Cardinal Brady responded that “when Jesus came to choose Peter he didn’t ask him to produce a birth certificate . . . he asked ‘do you love me?’”
It was also at Cardinal Brady’s suggestion that, in an
unprecedented gesture, all cardinals went to St Peter’s basilica to pray
for guidance before the chair of Peter.
Asked about his comments in the discussions on
an increased role for women in church governance, he said: “I was
emphasising the need for the church to be inclusive of all and I am glad
to see that was one of the things that Pope Francis had in his
programme when he said that the protagonists in this renewal [of the
church] must be lay people, competent lay people . . . and that priests
and laity would work together. “
On being the only participant at the conclave
from English-speaking Europe, he said it was “a great honour, great
responsibility, a great joy really”.