Category: Asia

Cardinal Oswald Gracias underlined the positive impact of Pope Francis in India and Asia during an interview, in Rome, with Gerard O’Conell from the Vatican Insider/La Stampa. When asked about the 100 first days of the pontificate, he was rather enthusiastic about its effect on India: “Very, very positive! Very positive, in the sense that here’s a country with a lot of poverty also while there’s been great progress, and he’s struck a cord immediately with his consistent concern for the poor, the marginalized, and also telling the Church to be for the poor. India’s Catholics have been very impressed as well as the general populace who are not Catholic. He’s getting lots of publicity, everything he says is covered by the secular press, and his pictures appear very often in our papers.”

The cardinal didn’t spare his words: “It’s a big blessing for the Church. It seems like springtime for the Church. He has sparked an atmosphere of joy, enthusiasm and excitement. There’s life, vitality and enthusiasm for the Church now. People say this is the Church that I like to belong to. People have gone to confession and Mass because of the inspiration that Pope Francis has given.” He thinks something similar is happening in the rest of Asia: “I don’t have a lot of feedback as yet, but I’ve met some bishops from other countries, from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines; all have spoken very, very favorably of the Holy Father’s impact on their countries.” Cardinal Gracias, who was appointed by the Pope to represent the continent in the group of eight cardinals who are to be his top advisors, confesses that he was astonished by the news: “I was very, very surprised when I received the call from the Secretary of State that the Holy Father wanted me on this group of eight people to advise him. I said why me? I must say I almost felt certainly unworthy and humbled, but I also realized it is a tremendous responsibility and I felt like running away and saying get somebody else to advise you. But I realize it is something crucial, vital and very responsible.”  He also notes the role that the group, which includes representatives of all continents, can play: “I think the group will make a difference if he wants it to make a difference. I’ve heard him so often refer to this group in recent times that my impression is that he is expecting a lot from us. It appears to me that we are a little like the group of consulters that a Jesuit provincial has; and which he appoints. These consulters are there to help him in his different decisions, and he calls on them when there’s a need. I think it’s something of that sort; it’s the Ignatian method. It has proved very successful for the Jesuit provincials, and I cannot see why it can’t also prove successful for the Pope.”