Pope Francis called for “a poor Church
for the poor” in an address to journalists from around the world on
Saturday, as part of a charm offensive characterised by an informal
style in contrast with the Vatican’s monumental halls of power.
The
newly-elected pope smiled and joked with 3,000 journalists and Vatican
communications officials at an audience, as well as imparting a blessing
for any atheists present.
The 76-year-old said he picked his
papal name at the end of a dramatic conclave on Wednesday because he was
inspired by St Francis of Assisi, who was “a man of poverty and a man
of peace”.
“How I would like a poor Church for the poor!” said
the Argentinian with the common touch, the first pope from Latin America
and the first non-European pontiff in nearly 1,300 years.
But
the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio faced fresh accusations at home that he
had failed to speak out about the brutalities committed by Argentina’s
military leaders during the “Dirty War”.
The special audience
with journalists in a Vatican auditorium was billed as another sign of
the greater openness in Bergoglio’s first days as leader of the world’s
1.2 billion Catholics.
Francis described the emotional moments of
his election in a conclave in the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, offering
a rare insight from a pope into deliberations shrouded in the strictest
secrecy.
He explained that when the cardinals elected him, he
had been sitting next to Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, who had
comforted him when it became clear he would be the 266th pope of Rome.
“He hugged me and kissed me and told me not to forget the poor. And that word went in here,” Francis said, pointing to his head.
“I
immediately thought of Francis of Assisi,” he said, adding that the
13th century saint had been “a man of poverty, a man of peace, a man who
loved and protected Creation.”
“Right now our relations with Creation are not going very well,” he added.
The
Vatican on Saturday said he had also temporarily re-appointed the
entire Roman Curia — the intrigue-filled administration of the Catholic
Church — which has faced growing criticism.
“The Holy Father
wishes a certain time for reflection, prayer and dialogue before any
definitive nomination or confirmation,” it said.
Vatican watchers
are keeping a close eye on nominations to top posts as an indication of
what changes in substance — apart from the already evident ones in
style — his papacy could herald.
Analyst Marco Politi, the author
of a biography of Francis’s predecessor Benedict XVI, has said it is
clear that the new pope — who officially has absolute powers — will rule
in a more inclusive way together with other Church figures.
“The
Church will be governed by the pope together with the bishops. That is
what we will see in the next months and years,” Politi said, adding that
he would probably seek to create some “mechanism of consultation” with
the world’s prelates.
The Vatican said Francis would meet next
Saturday with the 85-year-old Benedict, who last month became the first
pope to resign for 700 years because he said his physical and mental
strengths were failing him.
The two men know each other well and
Bergoglio is believed to have been runner-up to the German in the 2005
election, but the pope’s style contrasts sharply with that of his more
academic predecessor.
Speaking in a folksy Italian, he has urged
Catholic leaders to shun worldly glories and lead a spiritual renewal in
the Church that will reach “the ends of the earth”, or risk becoming
little more than a charity with no spiritual foundation.
The
Catholic Church has been rocked in recent years by multiple scandals
including thousands of cases of abuse of children by paedophile priests.
Catholics
have also been abandoning churches in huge numbers in an increasingly
secularised West — in contrast to Latin America, where some 40 percent
of the world’s Catholics now live.
A moderate conservative in
Argentina where he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis — the son
of an Italian emigrant railway worker — is unlikely to change any of
the fundamental tenets of Catholic doctrine but experts say he could
push for more social justice and a friendlier faith.
The Vatican
on Friday rejected claims that Francis had failed to protect two Jesuit
priests who were kidnapped and tortured by Argentina’s brutal military
junta during the 1976-1983 “Dirty War”, in which 30,000 died or
disappeared.
But the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
organisation, founded to help locate children kidnapped during military
rule, added to the criticism when it accused him of failing to speak out
during the military dictatorship.
“He has never spoken of the
problem of people who had disappeared under dictatorial rule, and 30
years have already passed since our return to democracy,” said Estela
Carlotto, the head of the group, whose daughter Laura was abducted and
killed during the military era.
Francis’s inauguration mass will
take place on St Peter’s Square on Tuesday and a million are expected to
throng Rome for the celebration.
Several heads of state will
come including one who has had a tense relationship with Bergoglio —
Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner, who will also meet the pope in
private on Monday.
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