Pandemic marks beginning of the end of Pope Francis' reign, historian says
Pope Francis delivers his speech as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020. ROME -- On the March day that Italy recorded its single biggest jump in coronavirus fatalities, Pope Francis emerged from lockdown to offer an extraordinary prayer and plea to his flock to reassess their priorities, arguing the virus had proved they needed one another.
What does all this mean for a 83-year-old globe-trotting pope and his ministry to the 1.2-billion-member Catholic Church? The pandemic, he said in an interview, had given "a whole new impetus to the papacy" to double down on its core message, articulated most comprehensively in Francis' 2015 encyclical "Praised Be." In the document, Francis demanded political leaders correct the "perverse" structural inequalities of the global economy that had turned Earth into an "immense pile of filth.
"The pope isn't just looking at the emergency," said Sister Alessandra Smerilli, an economist who is a key member of the commission. "He is perhaps one of the few world leaders who is pushing to ensure that we don't waste this crisis, that all the pain that this crisis has caused isn't in vain." Those words were delivered to a television camera from Francis' library -- hardly a headline-grabbing moment. It's the setup the Vatican has used since March, when it suspended all nonessential activity and gatherings.
Ivereigh said Francis has expressed his "spiritual closeness" in other ways, including his livestreamed morning Masses that were viewed by millions before the Vatican pulled the plug once Italian churches reopened.
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