Claudio Hummes, the little voice in Jorge’s ear.
When Jorge appeared on the balcony after being named as Pope Franciscus, he was standing next to Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Brazil. This was a break with Vatican protocol as Cardinal Angelo Sodano should have been next to Jorge as he is the Dean of the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Hummes and Jorge have long been good friends. After Jorge was elected Pope in the conclave several of the Cardinals jokingly suggested he take on the name Clement XV to rebuke Pope Clement XIV who suppressed the Jesuits. Instead Jorge remembered how his friend Hummes helped him in the conclave and gave advice.
“During the election, next to me was Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a great friend. When the'danger' grew, he would comfort me. And when we reached two thirds, Cardinal Hummes hugged me and kissed me saying, ‘Do not forget about the poor,’ so then in my mind I immediately thought of Francis of Assisi.”
Was this divine inspiration or has Jorge , his entire life, harped on and on about the ‘poor church’? Jorge sharing this story about the conclave, which isn’t supposed to be talked about, leaves one to guess he trying to put on a false public demonstration of humbleness? Someone who is truly humble wouldn’t have done this. Interestingly Cardinal Hummes said in an interview, “the fact that he has recently chosen the name Francisco. I am a Franciscan, so it involved me very personally.”
Hummes go on to say,
“Not only in the Curia are many other things: the way we do Mass, to evangelization, the new evangelization needs new methods. The pope spoke at the meeting with the cardinals on new methods, we need to find new methods.
But they spoke mostly of the Roman Curia, which needs to be reformed structurally. It is very large, but all this needs study, we do not have many coordinates…
…The church no longer works. The issues which have happened lately show how it does not work. And then, once this new design is finished, you have to look for suitable people to fill these positions, these services.”
What has then happened? Francis appointed eight Cardinals to an Advisory Panel who will advise him and reform the Vatican. Who is Cardinal Hummes? Hummes perceives Catholicism as a personal encounter with Christ. Hummes sheltered the Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) in Brazil which were a product of liberation theology. He gave Frei Betto and Leonardo Boff (the two creators of liberation theology) a safe place from which to disseminate their ideas. He encouraged the BCCs to spread among the poor and sees this as a new model for the Church. This growth of BCCs was responsible for the creation of socialist parties and the elections of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff in Brazil. In a 2006 interview with Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paolo, Hummes said, “even though celibacy is part of Catholic history and culture, the church could review this question, because celibacy is not a dogma but a disciplinary question.”
A
joke told by the then President of Brazil, Dilma
Rousseff after meeting with Francis was, “the Pope is Argentinian but God is Brazilian.” This joke certainly has the ring of truth to
it. Dilma
Rousseff is a Marxist-Communist who is pro-abortion, pro civil unions, and
against the death penalty. As a Marxist
she was a member of Comando de Libertação Nacional a terrorist organization financed by Fidel Castro which
was responsible for at least: four bank
robberies, two bombings, the murders of American Captain Charles Rodney Chandler,
British sailor David Cuthberg, and dozens of Brazilians including two policemen. Dilma Rousseff is a Roman Catholic in
good standing with the Church. Back in 2010 before she was elected President,
Dilma signed a pledge, with evangelical protestant religious leaders, if she
was elected she would not sign or pass new abortion legislation. Abortion legislation was signed into law 1
August 2013 by President Dilma. During Francis’ trip to Brazil for World Youth Day 2013 he met with President Dilma but
didn’t mention abortion.
