By Lucila Sigal
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine priest Guillermo Marcó, a close ally to Pope Francis and his spokesman for years when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, is confident that the pontiff’s drive to open up and modernize the Catholic Church will endure after his death.
Pope Francis died on Monday, aged 88, of a stroke and heart failure, with his funeral set to take place on Saturday. A new pope will be elected in the coming weeks, although for now there is no clear frontrunner to succeed him.
The biggest question mark is whether the next pope will continue the liberal reforms begun by Francis, which were divisive in the Vatican and beyond, or steer the Church in a more conservative direction once more.
“I think there’s no turning back,” Marcó, a spokesman for then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio for nine years, told Reuters in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, adding that the conservative-minded bloc in the Vatican “doesn’t have much of a quorum these days”.
“No one wants to return to a more severe, more closed Church that excludes people, but rather a Church that is warmer, more merciful, more open to all,” said the priest, who remained close to Pope Francis until his death.
Marcó, like others, pointed out that Francis, the first Latin American pope, had appointed some 80% of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pontiff, a fact that gave him “ironclad control” and made continuity more likely.
The conclave to elect a new pope is usually held between 15 and 20 days after the death of a pontiff. About 135 cardinals can participate in a secret ballot that can last several days.
‘SLUM POPE’
Francis, a soccer fan who never returned to Argentina after becoming pope in 2013, was known for promoting interfaith dialogue, defending the poor and migrants, and living humbly. He gained the moniker as the “slum pope” in his native Argentina.
“Most of the cardinals have been appointed by Pope Francis, and he always had a profile of being very close to the poor,” Adalberto Martínez, the Paraguayan cardinal appointed by Francis in 2022, told reporters in Asuncion this week.
“He leaves us a legacy and a teaching that will remain and that we should continue,” added Martínez, who will be in Rome for the pope’s funeral and participate in the conclave.
Jorge Garcia, archbishop of Buenos Aires, said during a Mass for the pope that the pontiff’s great strength had been pushing tough reforms even against opposition.
“He didn’t hide the need for transparency in the Church, the need for reforms in the Church that were longed for,” he said. “Maybe for this reason he was so criticized, because he didn’t sweep problems under the carpet, but put them on the table.”
(Reporting by Lucila Sigal; Additional reporting by Daniela Desantis; Editing by Adam Jourdan)
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