He will encourage Europe

Bernard Lecomte, born in France in 1949, has been a journalist for 25 years, reporting for several national newspapers (La Croix, le Figaro, L’Express). An expert in East-European affairs, he followed all the events that marked the end of the communist era. Vatican correspondent and author of many books, his biography of John Paul II, published in 2003, sold 50 thousand copies. His latest volume written in Italian is "Il segreto dei Papi (Dall’Ottocento ai giorni nostri)", San Paolo editions. He lives in Bourgogne. Sarah Numico has interviewed him for SIR Europe, on the first days of Pope Francis. What are you impressions after the first days of Pope Francis? "Since the moment he stood at the Loggia of the Blessings, past March 13, Pope Francis marked a change in tone, compared to his predecessors. Firstly, he decided to call himself Francis, after Saint Francis of Assisi, an emblematic figure of poverty, which no other Pope had done before. Furthermore, he was clothed in the white habit, as a simple priest, and only wore the embroidered cloak for the blessing. Finally, before imparting his blessing on the people of Rome, he asked them to pray to God that He may bless His bishop, which was unprecedented, setting the new pace…".What will be this Pope’s contribution to Europe? "It’s still too soon to say. After the Italian popes, European by nature, we had a Polish and a German pope, both very close to Europe and to its Christian roots, to humanist values, to universal culture… and to its secularization, that prompted the concept of ‘new evangelization.’ In all likelihood Pope Francis will extend this notion to other continents, but I do believe he will continue the commitment for Europe. We shall see!".Do you think he will speak also with those who broke all relations with the Church in Europe and with those who claim a distance from all faiths? "The first steps and gestures of Pope Francis have provided us with a cordial and open image of him, close to the faithful. This does not correspond to the idea that most Europeans have of the Catholic Church today. His personal humbleness, his past years as a shepherd close to the poor, his simplicity in the homilies have shown tens of millions of people that the Church is not an assembly of obtuse doctrinaires directed by a reactionary administration, but rather a community of diversities gathered under simple values: faith, hope and charity". Will this Pope, who welcomes everyone, be able to give new perspectives to ecumenical dialogue? "I suppose so, although ecumenism is not a priority in Argentina, compared to European and Mediterranean countries. Moreover, a Catholic Church leader has to address the major challenge of dialogue and mutual understanding between Christian confessions. I expect that the simplicity of the new Pope will be appealing to Protestants and to the Orthodox, who will appreciate his personal mode of devotion. Ecumenism is always easier if we return to the spirit of the Gospel". It will remind us of our roots and rekindle its strength. "For the first time a Pope has decided to choose a name that marks a commitment in many fields. For the first time, a Pope began his pontificate with a prayer, reducing to silence an immense crowd, who thus jointly recited Our Father and Hail Mary, the two fundamental prayers of all Catholics. Since he comes from afar, from the new world, he may dare take the name of one of the most popular saints in the history of European Christianity and recover the fundamental prayers, thus reminding old Europe of its roots and its strengths. Ten years after the apostolic exhortation of John Paul II ‘Ecclesia in Europa’, Francis is also a challenge for old Europe and a hope for the rest of the world".Jean-Dominique Durand – Lyon’s University