Pope Francis was one of a series of very strong popes of the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council – these are Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. Pope Francis continued a line of strong and serious reform of the church, managing to give a very strong impulse to open the church to the world and to society in the contemporary context of the world. What will the Roman Catholic Church be like now… Bogdan Patashev, Bulgarian Ambassador to the Holy See (2019-2023), as well as Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Sovereign Order of Malta, spoke to FACT. He is a Bulgarian philosopher, politician, teacher, diplomat, active in church, humanitarian and cultural diplomacy.
- Mr. Patashev, Pope Francis left us, and you were ambassador to the Vatican for many years. What is the Pope, what did the faith lose with him…
- The Pope is a spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics around the world. He is the exponent of so many people who share the same faith. A person who must unite, lead all Catholics in Christianity, and he did it diligently.
- The thing you will remember Pope Francis for. Have you had contact with other popes?
- His humanity. Pope Francis cared a lot about us being people who forgive, who are good. These are all Christian messages, but he lived them in the literal sense of the word. In the meetings that Pope Francis organized, I was convinced that what he sincerely preached and put into practice was kindness.
- He was very well received by people and strove to be close to them…
- Pope Francis, for me, was very original in his communication, especially with the media. In general, the papal institution has a very serious apparatus for working with the media. After all, the popes were among the first to use radio for official communication, later television with their video messages. Much later, other leaders took similar steps as a tactic. I am talking about the last century. But despite this well-functioning apparatus, Pope Francis liked to improvise. He invited journalists to his own apartment more than once to give interviews, which, in my opinion, again wanted to shorten the distance with people. I am a witness that there was a lot of criticism and bewilderment as to how and why he did not follow the established order, but allowed himself such improvisations. On the other hand, perhaps his entire activity was about this desire to create, to overcome and shorten all kinds of boundaries with individuals. Through the media, he tried to have more direct contact with ordinary people. There is an important analysis about him from his fellow Jesuits, who say that in order to understand Pope Francis, in addition to his messages, we must also read the gestures, the signs that he applied to his sermon.
- And what were these gestures?
- For example, these impromptu interviews. His appearance in prison, where he went to wash the feet of prisoners, his meeting with refugees... These gestures were unexpected. Also his appearance in a small Ford “Fiesta“ on the streets of Rome, and not with the popemobile and an escort. These gestures shocked part of his administration, but on the other hand they were messages from his way of life.
- Everyone lives in different times, but Pope Francis did not stay away from the war in Ukraine. He had a very serious attitude towards the war that broke out. What were his messages…
- In my opinion, the war in Ukraine was one of the serious challenges he faced. Of course, no one wishes for a war to break out, but it was difficult for him too. Looking at history, the popes who were at the time of the First and Second World Wars have always been misunderstood. Why? Because both sides always expected that the pope must necessarily take their side. Thus, Pope Francis was put in a situation to seek peace and was even reproached for wanting this bloodshed to end as soon as possible. However, he did not spare himself criticism of the aggressor. This was perhaps the most complex task he had to deal with.
- We saw it in Bulgaria too…
- The Pope is invited to many countries in the world. But Pope Francis decided not to go to countries where there are many Catholics. He preferred to visit smaller countries where they had less hope of seeing him. Pope Francis came to Bulgaria specifically as a pilgrim of peace. This was his choice. He categorically stated to his administration that he wanted to accept the invitation from Bulgaria and visit our country. And he came to us under the guise of being a pilgrim of peace, that there is peace in Bulgaria and that he could be a guarantor of peace in the region. Pope Francis wanted to reach countries where they least hoped and expected him to really go. This is indicative of the fact that he wanted to be close to the people. And after his visit to Bulgaria, the assessments he shared in several public appearances were that he was extremely impressed by Bulgaria's elderly people, who were always smiling, and the children who greeted him in the squares.
- We will remember Pope Francis himself with his smile…
- Yes, he was smiling, but he also had different expressions during some protocol official meetings with leaders, whose policies he did not share.
- The next election of a pope is coming. What can we expect, who can succeed him…
- There are many worthy people among the cardinals, but not all of them are ready to take on the post of pope. This is a collective choice and it will cost the cardinals a lot to choose the person who can lead the church to new horizons. And this is because the challenge is not just how to continue the line of Pope Francis, but what the church needs, given all the challenges that the world is facing today. And we all know that today the world is confused and new and new challenges arise every day. So, I think, there will be a search for someone who can lead the church in a way that gives Christian answers to the challenges that are coming.