{"id":20792,"date":"2025-05-02T18:10:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T01:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=20792"},"modified":"2025-05-09T16:08:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T23:08:39","slug":"cardinal-lopez-romero-sdb-for-me-pope-francis-was-a-father-a-role-model-and-a-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2025\/05\/02\/cardinal-lopez-romero-sdb-for-me-pope-francis-was-a-father-a-role-model-and-a-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal L\u00f3pez Romero, SDB: \u201cFor me, Pope Francis was a father, a role model, and a friend\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

(ANS \u2013 Vatican City)<\/strong> \u2013 Among the Salesian cardinals who will take part in the Conclave beginning Wednesday, May 7, is Cardinal Crist\u00f3bal L\u00f3pez Romero, Archbishop of Rabat, the capital of Morocco. He was appointed bishop and later made a cardinal by Pope Francis, whom he fondly remembered during these days of mourning for the first Latin American Pope: \u201cFor me, Pope Francis was like a father, a pastoral model, and a friend who knew me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on the sidelines of the General Congregations of Cardinals held in these pre-Conclave days, Cardinal L\u00f3pez Romero shared heartfelt memories of the late Holy Father and the deepening of their relationship over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI first greeted him in one of those gatherings where there are 200 people and the Pope shakes hands with everyone. Then in 2018, he appointed me Bishop of Rabat at the request of the relevant Congregation. When I got to know him a bit better later on, he even admitted he\u2019d named me bishop without knowing what I looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their connection became more personal in 2019, when Pope Francis visited Morocco and L\u00f3pez Romero served as his host. \u201cHe came to support us and to strengthen us in our faith. My fondest memory of that visit was a private trip we took together to visit a social project. It was just the driver, security, the Pope, and me. We sat in the backseat, chatting in Spanish and laughing\u201420 minutes on the way there and 30 on the way back. That\u2019s when I got to tell him who I was and what the Church in Morocco was like. I must have made a good impression\u2014he laughed a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That trip, along with other significant gestures like the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi the same year, left a lasting impact on the Muslim world. Cardinal L\u00f3pez Romero observed, \u201cHow is the Islamic world reacting to Pope Francis’ absence? I\u2019ve received many messages of condolence and support. His visit to Morocco left a deep impression. Even the King told me that the Pope\u2019s visit would be remembered forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In various media interviews, Cardinal L\u00f3pez Romero has also highlighted other key aspects of Pope Francis\u2019 pontificate. \u201cHe placed great emphasis on the Mediterranean. I was with him in Bari and Marseille\u2014he gave strong momentum to a Mediterranean theology, a pastoral approach that envisions the Mediterranean not as a frontier of peace, but as a peace without frontiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also credited Pope Francis with fully embracing the Church\u2019s universality\u2014an idea now evident in what is expected to be the most international Conclave in history. \u201cThanks to Pope Francis, it\u2019s now clearer than ever that the Church is truly universal and Catholic\u2014there are no geographical limits. After 50 years of a Polish Pope, a German Pope, and an Argentine Pope, why not a Pope from Myanmar, Timor, Australia, North America, or Africa? Everything is open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for his own alignment, the Salesian cardinal is unequivocal: \u201cI\u2019m fully in tune with everything Francis proposed\u2014his way of acting, speaking, and leading. But I don\u2019t say I \u2018belong to Francis.\u2019 Some say, \u2018I\u2019m of Benedict XVI,\u2019 others, \u2018I\u2019m of Francis,\u2019 or \u2018of John Paul II.\u2019 I\u2019m of Christ. I\u2019m of the Gospel. And if I love Francis, it\u2019s because he\u2019s pure Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when asked about the kind of Pope the Church needs now, Cardinal L\u00f3pez Romero offered a clear vision: \u201cWe need a Pope who can build unity among all, someone inclusive who excludes no one. A Pope who inspires us to walk together\u2014because the Church is a pilgrim people that doesn\u2019t stand still. We must move forward, but we must move together. And we need a Pope who connects us deeply to Christ, to the roots, to the source, and helps us drink from that fountain. Francis helped me reconnect with both the Gospel and tradition. And by tradition, I mean not the 19th century, but the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries. The most traditional thing we have is the Gospel\u2014it\u2019s the source of the entire stream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for himself\u2014aware that, like all other electors, he could theoretically be chosen\u2014he deflects with a bit of humor and a nod to Francis\u2019 own homeland: \u201cIt would be like being told that Messi is retiring and I have to take his place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources: El Confidencial, RTVE<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(ANS \u2013 Vatican City) \u2013 Among the Salesian cardinals who will take part in the Conclave beginning Wednesday, May 7, is Cardinal Crist\u00f3bal L\u00f3pez Romero, Archbishop of Rabat, the capital of Morocco. He was appointed bishop and later made a cardinal by Pope Francis, whom he fondly remembered during these days of mourning for the first Latin American Pope: \u201cFor me, Pope Francis was like a … Continuar leyendo Cardinal L\u00f3pez Romero, SDB: \u201cFor me, Pope Francis was a father, a role model, and a friend\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10336596,"featured_media":20978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[516714022],"tags":[35890],"class_list":["post-20792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salesian-world-news","tag-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salesianbulletin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cardinal-lopez-romero-feature.jpg?fit=1600%2C875&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59ePG-5pm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10336596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20792"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20842,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20792\/revisions\/20842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}