Spanish
EDITORIAL. – In the Mass pro eligendo Pontifice, presided over this morning in the Vatican basilica, the Cardinal Dean outlines the tasks of each successor of Peter, marked by the "new commandment" of love. The reminder to the cardinal electors: to elect with "the greatest human and ecclesial responsibility," avoiding personal considerations and looking to the good of the Church and of humanity.
"I will raise up a faithful priest, who will act according to the desires of God's heart": the opening antiphon accompanies the long procession that slowly enters the Vatican basilica this morning, May 7, for the Mass Pro eligendo Romano Pontifice. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over the rite at the Altar of the Confession. In the place of worship that houses the remains of Peter, whose successor the Conclave is called to elect, 220 cardinals, electors and non-electors, concelebrate. Among them, also the 267th Pontiff: his name remains kept in the Lord's heart, but the prayers and the eyes of the world are directed to him.
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In the "confident expectation" of these hours, Cardinal Re invokes the help of the Holy Spirit, because "praying -he says- is the only just and necessary attitude":
May the Pope that the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex moment in history be chosen.
Maximum human and ecclesial responsibility
That of the cardinal electors, who will meet at 4:30 p.m. in the Sistine Chapel and begin the Conclave, is "an act of the utmost human and ecclesial responsibility -underlined Cardinal Re- and a decision of exceptional importance":
A human act by which any personal consideration must be abandoned, and to have in mind and in the heart only the God of Jesus Christ and the good of the Church and of humanity.
Love changes the world
The cardinal then paused at the Gospel of John, proclaimed in Latin during the celebration: it is the passage in which Jesus invites the disciples to remain in his love, the "new" commandment that "knows no limits and must characterize the thoughts and actions of all his disciples." "Love is the only force capable of changing the world," continued the dean cardinal, reiterating that "the fundamental quality of the Shepherds is love to the total gift of self," along with "mutual aid and commitment to ecclesial communion and universal human fraternity"
Increase communion
"To increase communion" is another of the tasks of the Successor of Peter highlighted by the Cardinal Dean: communion of all Christians with Christ, -he explained- communion of the bishops with the Pope and with each other:
Not a self-referential communion, but one directed entirely towards communion between people, peoples, and cultures, ensuring that the Church is always a "house and school of communion."
Unity in diversity
Equally strong is the call to "maintain the unity of the Church in the path traced by Christ to the Apostles":
The unity of the Church is cherished by Christ; a unity that does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity, provided it is maintained in full fidelity to the Gospel.
The election of a Pope is not a simple succession
A new Pope "according to the heart of God for the good of the Church and of humanity" is, therefore, the invocation of the Cardinal Dean, because the election of a Pope "is not a simple succession of persons, but it is always the apostle Peter who returns":
Let us pray that God may grant the Church the Pope who best knows how to awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual forces in today's society, characterized by great technological progress, but which tends to forget God.
May the cardinals agree in their choice
Finally, the wish that the cardinal electors gathered in the Sistine Chapel -where Michelangelo's Last Judgment reminds each one of "the greatness of the responsibility" of putting the Pontificate "in the right hands"- agree "in electing the Pope that our time needs".
