In Rome, “today is a party day”
“Our party should not end!” And it will not end! »»sang with head killing, tapping hands, Nicola Nicefaro, with a group of faithful from the Naples region, a few minutes before the start of the ceremony. “Today is a party day, yes. For François found the Lord. We are Catholic! We believe in the resurrection! “, exclaimed this 47 -year -old teacher.
From François, he remembers with emotion the first words pronounced on the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica, the day of his election, in 2013: “Brothers and sisters, good evening!” »» For Nicola, it was a revelation: “This simplicity! We immediately understood that he would be our pope, a pope close to the people! I heard somewhere that he had only 100 euros on his bank account, and I believe in it. »»
The faithful, of Calabraise origin, dreams of a successor who is in the line of François and who rids the Church of “All those who hurt him” : abuse authors, priests “Closed” or excessively conservative … for Nicola, “The Church as an institution is in crisis, but the real Church is us”he said, designating a crowded place, crowded with a wide movement of the arm, where faithful of all ages are crowded from all over the world, in an atmosphere marked by the enthusiasm of being together.
Like François in his time, he is very critical of clericalism, that is to say the weight of ecclesiastical hierarchies in the life of the Church: “On Sunday, I go to the church to feel the presence of the Lord, not for the priest, the bishop or the pope!” The Church is made of men, and therefore of sinners. François fought for his ideas within him, and his fight must continue. »»
Source: Lemonde