In September, after five months and following the necessary health measures, Pope Francis was seen again surrounded by pilgrims.
The Vatican set up protocols to allow the pope to give his Wednesday catechesis with around 500 pilgrims. The audiences were held in the Courtyard of St. Damasus, inside the Vatican.
POPE FRANCIS
After so many months, we resume our meeting face-to-face; not screen-to-screen—face-to-face. This is nice.
Pope Francis continued with his emotional gestures. Like the one he had with a Lebanese priest after the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut.
FR. GEORGES BREIDI
Maronite priest
“I was very moved. I wanted to share with the Holy Father what I carry in my heart: that my people can no longer live in a country like this. We cannot live like this any longer. We need universal aid—from the Church, above all. I think that today, I wasn't the representative for the Lebanese. Rather, it was the pope's voice. The pope's voice was the voice of all the people of Lebanon.” “Many Christians have already presented their documents to leave, to emigrate from Lebanon. It's something that must be said.”
In September, there were also important announcements in the Vatican, such as the decision of the Holy See to renew its agreement with China.
This decision generated reactions in Washington. The head of American diplomacy assured that the Vatican was putting its moral authority into question by renewing the pact. The Holy See responded by saying that the agreement has nothing to do with politics and refers exclusively to the process for appointing bishops.
In September, the controversial resignation of Cardinal Angelo Becciu caused a stir. He resigned from his position as a Cardinal and head of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
CARD. ANGELO BECCIU
“Yesterday until 6:02 p.m., I felt like a friend of the pope, a loyal person who carried out the pope's orders. However, he spoke to me and said he no longer trusts me. He no longer trusts me because the magistrates told him I committed the crime of embezzlement.”
He made the decision at the request of the pope.
Becciu was involved in the investigations for the mismanagement of funds when he was a substitute for the Secretary of State.
Angelo Becciu denied that he committed any crime.
In September, encounters that always amaze Pope Francis also took place. At Casa Santa Marta, he baptized the Siamese twins who were separated during an operation at the Vatican's children's hospital.
The head of the hospital learned about this case in Bangui, when she traveled to the hospital built with the financial aid sent by the Pope.
MARIELLA ENOC
President of Bambino Gesù Hospital
“Ervina and Prefina struck me in a particular way. They were only a few days old. They were in a small bed. I was told it was unlikely they would survive because even a small infection could kill them.”
After seeing her healthy daughters, the mother's dream was fulfilled, with the ceremony in which the pope baptized them. Pope Francis said that thanks to the operation, Ervina and Prefina, were born twice.
Daniel Díaz Vizzi
Translation: Christian Campos
