US Cardinal Edwin O’Brien visited Brisbane last week, and journalist Emilie Ng covered his brief trip.
POPE Francis’ election as Pope was “God’s choice”, US Cardinal Edwin O’Brien said during his visit to Brisbane last week.
Cardinal O’Brien shared several stories of Pope Francis and his approach as the Successor of St Peter with various Catholic groups at a breakfast gathering.
Cardinal O’Brien, who is the Grand Master of the Equestrian of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, offered insights into Pope Francis’ character and hopes for the Church.
Ahead of the conclave, he said the announcement Pope Benedict XVI gave of his resignation “shocked everybody”.
A week prior to the conclave, set for March 11, all retired and active cardinals assembled for a General Congregation, discussing the needs of the universal Church.
Cardinal O’Brien said it was a “very important meeting” to get to know what all the cardinals were like and if they would make a good pope.
“It gave us more confidence entering into the conclave,” he said.
On Wednesday, March 12, the 115 cardinals eligible to elect a new pope made a consensus and elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
“I had never heard the name Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, until we started those general congregations,” he said.
“But I say it was almost like mist coming up out of the sea, you don’t know where it’s coming from, but it was just a consensus built out of nowhere.
“I say this before God – I have never been more convinced in my life that the Holy Spirit was working that night.
“It just couldn’t have happened any other way. It was God’s choice.”
The cardinal said Pope Francis was initially “confused” about accepting the decision the cardinals made to elect him as pope, and even considered rejecting the verdict.
“He took his time, when everybody was out, quietly prayed to the Holy Spirit and said a calm came over him,” he said.
“It was a mystical experience.
“He said he was totally convinced that God was in it and he was called, even at that age and that background, to lead the Church in the years ahead.”
Cardinal O’Brien said while Pope Francis’ style was different from other popes and prone to questioning, he was convinced that it was the action of the Holy Spirit.
“I’m puzzled sometimes by what’s happening, but I’m totally convinced that this is the way that God wants the Church to step forward in this day and age,” he said.
This Jesuit, South American pope sees the need for proper discernment in discussing matters of the Church, mission, prophecy, and being with the people, Cardinal O’Brien said.
Cardinal O’Brien also spoke “more personally” about Pope Francis, reiterating stories that show his love for simplicity, community, his pastoral heart, and his tendency to “go on a tangent” in speaking engagements.
“He’s saying go out to the periphery, not just geographically, but he’s talking about our own cultures, where people don’t really know Christ or don’t know much about Him, or have forgotten him, and need evangelisation,” he said.
“He says we are too comfortable as a Church – we’re not getting out there where people have to hear our message.
“People are very generous with the Church – they are ushers, they count the money, they supervise Bingo … and we’re happy with that.
“Is Christ really the centre of our lives as we say in our prayers or is he kind of a convenience?
“I’d say what this Pope is going on about is shaking me up, and he’s right.”
He said the Pope’s approach to teaching the faith and speaking in public for the Church was not a traditional approach and media often used phrases out of context.
“We don’t know what’s coming next, but we have to make sure we hear what he says, see what he says, because it makes sense, but the press headlines do not make sense,” he said.
Pope Francis was a pastoral pope, he said.
“This man is very bright, but he’s a pastor, and he’s been in the midst of people all the time,” he said.
“His definition of a pastor is you smell of the sheep – it’s part of you’re life.
“This is the way the people live and he wanted to identify with his people, and he expects more and more of his priests and bishops to identify in the same way.”
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