After Pope Francis, the opening of the Church in question

SI The duration necessary for changes in the Catholic Church is most often measured in decades, or even centuries, the twelve years of Pope Francis' pontificate, who died Monday April 21 at the age of 88, will have been marked by his intense desire to move its priorities-from Europe to the whole world, from dogma to social and societal realities-to address other religions and non-believers From its deep ailments – bad governance, financial and sexual scandals – finally extirpated from secrecy. In this, the Pope, who disappeared very symbolically in the aftermath of Easter Sunday, is part of the heirs of Vatican Council II (1962-1965) who, after the Second World War, opened Catholicism on the world, encouraged engagement alongside the underprivileged, favored the interreligious dialogue and asked the crucial questions of the place of women and the celibacy of the priests.

In each of these areas, the Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio, son of Italian immigrants, first Jesuit pope and from the south, will have, if not changed the situation, at least left a striking imprint. Thus, by introducing ecology into the Catholic theological corpus with encyclical Laudato if ' (2015), he will have taken a step comparable to that of his predecessor Léon XIII who, in 1891, had joined the social question.

His attachment to the traditions of the Church will not have prevented François from reaching out to homosexual couples and remarried divorced. And his defense of life will not be stopped in the conviction of abortion, integrating the defense of the left-handed of the economy, the denunciation of arms sales and the refusal of the death penalty.

At a time marked by the rise of inequalities and social violence, the former head of the Catholic Church will also remain like the one who placed the poor at the center of his speech and castigated this “Unseat of the money that commands”. In these times of nationalism and xenophobia, he will have loudly brought the cause of immigrants and refugees, denouncing “The globalization of indifference” towards them.

Concerned about the balances of the institution

Under the pontificate of François, the Church will have ceased to put under the carpet some of its turpitudes, such as the opacity of its finances and the dysfunctions of the Roman Curia, without however remedy it completely. Neither the central question of the place of women, nor that of the ordination of married priests, nor that of the reception of same -sex couples, vigorously combated by whole sections of the Church, especially in Africa, will have known a concrete advance.

After having delayed recognizing the immense scandal of sexual abuse, the pope will certainly have legitimized the speech of the victims. But he will have continued to refuse to recognize the systemic character and maintained in the shadows their magnitude, even their reality, in many regions of the world.

Concerned about the balances of the institution, François will have had to manage a contradiction: while the Catholic Church is in loss of speed both in Europe and in Latin America, the countries where it has the most wind in its stern, especially on the African continent, are also those where the most vigorous developments are rejected in terms of sexuality and customs.

Apostle of benevolence, more attentive to the fate of the poor than to moral standards, preferring openness to the world and listening to others to withdrawal, Pope Francis disappears precisely when the forces that opposed his choices are strengthened, or even impose themselves in several regions of the world, starting with the United States.

Ironically, the sovereign pontiff made his last breath shortly after having briefly received the American vice-president, JD Vance, a figurehead of the Catholic reaction in the United States. Only the long time will say if, beyond the pontificate of François, the Roman Church will be able to permanently reject the impasse identity and the conservative temptation present on all the continents and so clearly fought by the chief which she has just lost.