The migration of cardinal fiducies of Guatemala will be a priority for the next pope

By Giovanna dell’orto | Associated Press

Rome – Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini takes the same spirit from his first conclave which guided his front -line ministry of several decades among migrants, the poor and the Aboriginal people of the highlands of Guatemala – ensuring that the Gospel is not preached “in the abstract”.

The advocacy for migrants was a priority for Pope Francis, who made Ramazzini a cardinal in 2019. Being raised to the upper hierarchy of the Catholic Church did not decapancé the bishop of Huehuetenango, whose continuous commitment to social justice has led to numerous threats of violence. His native Guatemala fights against political disorders and remains a hot spot in migration in the United States.

“It is a duty of conscience for the cardinals, now that we are responsible for appointing a new pope, that we do not lose sight of the way that we have followed a path and that this path must continue to grow and grow and grow,” Ramazzini told the Associated Press on Saturday, four days before the Catholic cardinals come together to elect the successor of Francis. “I’m talking about supporting, welcoming and protecting the rights of migrants.”

Ramazzini said that the Church must defend migrants forced by disastrous poverty to migrate along the routes controlled by the cartel where they are often extorted or treated, both by helping them with shelters and other humanitarian aid and by putting pressure for a complete immigration reform.

“But we did not succeed,” said Ramazzini. “We did not do it with Clinton, we did not realize with Obama, we did not do it with Biden, well, much less we will succeed with Mr. Trump.”

However, the Church should not abandon migrants or the “pastoral line” to plead for social justice, peace and more equitable economic relations between countries which have started to acquire importance with the second Vaticil Council and have reached new heights under François, said Ramazzini.

“There is a line of continuity and I am sure that it will be a task for the next pope,” said the cardinal at the headquarters of the Scalabrinian hill, a missionary order founded by an Italian bishop at the end of the 19th century to serve migrants and refugees. “We must be the voice of all these people who do not have access to lobbies that we can reach.”

For most of the over 50 years since his ordination, Ramazzini was bishop in San Marcos and then Huehuetenango, mountainous regions which were particularly affected during the Guatemala civil war, which ended in 1996. Today, they continue to fight against extreme poverty and drug trafficking, pushing hundreds of thousands of young locals to migrate to the United States.

The cardinals are sworn with secrets on the current deliberations concerning the direction of the church as they prepare to enter the conclave on Wednesday. But Ramazzini said that he was encouraged by the “world vision” shared by the unusually high number of Cardinals voters – 133, a couple except a few are already in Rome.

He added that he was trusting the next Pope will take the task of reforming religious institutions and his financial structure that Francis began, as well as the “big sign” to include more women in leadership positions.

Ramazzini also stressed that the action of spirituality and social justice must go hand in hand.

“It is true spirituality, which is fueled by prayer, by reflection on the Word of God, but it must be projected towards the other,” he said. “The next pope will have his own spirituality. But the important thing is that no one forgets that you can not have a real spirituality without putting the Gospel concretely in practice.”

And his own beliefs prevent him from being nervous at the idea of ​​participating for the first time in the elections of the next chief of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world.