Pope Francis, the highest recognized religious authority in the Catholic Church and universal spiritual leader, on New Year's Eve, after celebrating the Te Deum, violently struck a woman's hand along the route of the faithful on the way to St. Peter's Square. The "sin" committed by the almond-eyed believer? Grabbing the pontiff's arm to get his attention. A grip that so annoyed His Holiness that, to break away from the Christian grip, from the excessive veneration felt towards him, he gave him a slap on the hand. A gesture immortalized by dozens of people who at that moment crowded the Vatican agora with their cell phones, which inevitably went around the world. Pope Bergoglio... sovereign of the Vatican City since 2013, a skilled orator, wise and sensitive, an integral part of society, close to environmental issues. He who has sent important signals of openness towards divorced people, homosexuals, a person always ready for interreligious dialogue, to offer help to migrants, prisoners, to condemn pedophilia masked by the cassock (one of the most serious crimes committed by priests is child abuse), the Pope of listening and mercy, world leader, "has sinned". During the homily of the New Year's Mass, he limited himself to apologizing, justifying himself that he too can lose patience and, coincidentally, dedicating the first message of the new year to women, without ever directly addressing the faithful capable of making him impatient. A faithful too exuberant as the young Mexican: in 2016 His Holiness during a visit to Mexico, risked falling after being pulled by the arm and ended up on a disabled boy. Even on that occasion Bergoglio reacted but speaking in Spanish, severely scolding the young man said: "Don't be selfish!". Four years later the scene is repeated, Francis' reaction is much more severe, obviously there has been no shortage of reactions among viewers and on social media, among those who defend him, those who criticize him for a gesture considered inappropriate and those who are simply ironic. The fact is that: the Pope is under attack by "friendly fire" within the Catholic world itself, the enemies are increasing among the powerful within the Vatican walls and today also the disagreements among the faithful. The reason? Simple. Man by nature tends to idealize everything that is unattainable, that is in a privileged position, capable of speaking to the world without limits or censorship, the perfect balance between mind and body. Bold, humble just like Bergoglio… Too bad that even the Pope has made the world understand that appearance is much more important than being. That Freudian alter ego who for the first time showed himself in all his irreverence on December 31, 2019, slapping the hand of a lady guilty of squeezing his arm to get his attention. The clear demonstration of those like Francis and other powerful people who live off their image just like ordinary Christians. An image potentially exposed to risks of all kinds, but it is in these circumstances that nature reveals its true being and must be tamed… Bergoglio, you shouldn't have done that to me.
EDITORIAL TEAM
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