VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
by John L. Allen Jr. | Jul. 26, 2013All Things Catholic
Rio de Janeiro —
I’m in Rio de Janeiro this week, watching Francis wow Brazil. The trip has brought a little bit of everything: crowds so pumped up for the pope they created security nightmares, protestors pushed back with tear gas (they were mad at the government, not so much the pope), Francis at his pastoral best at the Marian shrine of Aparecida, and a powerful message of solidarity with the poor in a Rio slum.
You can find my daily reports from Rio on the NCR website.
All that would be enough to make the outing memorable, and the big finish hasn’t even happened. Francis will participate in the traditional Via Crucis procession for World Youth Day on Friday night, attend an evening vigil Saturday, and celebrate an open-air Mass for what’s expected to be as many as 2 million people Sunday.
The mere fact Francis is out of town, however, doesn’t mean his problems in Rome have taken a vacation.
In fact, while Francis is making his triumphant homecoming to Latin America, there are three fires burning back in Rome, one of which he learned of just before he left and two more that have erupted while he’s been away.
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Taken together, these three situations illustrate that Francis will have his work cut out for him when he gets back. If nothing else, his decision not to head out for the traditional summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo during August and to stay on the job instead is starting to look like a good call.
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