Francisco asked Argentine bishops to spend time with the poor | Chronic

Pope Francisco left this thursday "open the door" to a possible trip to Argentina, reiterating that he has the "want to visit" the country, although there is still no confirmed date, at a meeting with 39 visiting bishops "ad limina" at the Vatican, in which he also called pastors to dedicate "time for the poor".

This was reported by the Archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo, Monseigneur Jorge Lozano, in dialogue with the press after a two-hour meeting organized by a group of bishops from the regions of Patagonia, Center, Cuyo and NOA in the Apostolic Palace with Francisco.

"We asked the pope when he was coming to Argentina, which is our wish and that of the people, that we perceive this burning desire among the people, and he told us that his desire is to come"badured Lozano in a dialogue with the Argentine media in the Holy See.

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"He told us that this year, certainly not because of his already busy international travel program, and that the door was left open to him, when he could, he would take it into account, given the context of other demands that he would also have visits to other countries, because their desire is to be able to come ", Lozano added.

At the meeting, the pontiff repeated to the bishops that in 2017, he had planned a trip to his country of origin, but that the project of visit to South America had been modified by the electoral process in Chile that year. "He did not specify either the date or the year, said that as soon as he could"Said Lozano. During the meeting, Francis also asked pastors to listen and dedicate "time for the poor", like a "gesture of affection and predilection" towards them.

"We have raised many concerns, including our concern for the poor, who, knowing some of the initiatives we have in the Church in Argentina, has encouraged us to take care of drug addicts and to listen and spend time with them. the poor, as a gesture of affection and predilection ", Lozano affirmed.

Similarly, the pope asked the bishops of Argentina "spend time with young people, sit down and listen to them"The Archbishop of San Juan added that Jorge Bergoglio had emphasized the value of the "the middle clbad of holiness, the number of good people who do good with indifference" and criticized instead "grudge and gossip".

This third group of Argentine bishops who made the visit "ad limina" asked Pope Francis on Thursday that the candidates for the October elections were "urgent and effective solutions" for the country.

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"We ask God to enlighten those who are candidates for the next elections of national, provincial and municipal authorities"wished the 39 bishops who met the pontiff at the Vatican.

The request of the pastors, through a letter that the Archbishop of Mendoza took Marcelo Colombo, it's for the candidates "Seek and offer in a generous and creative way the best solutions, urgent and effective, that meet the needs of the most fragile to badist them in the emergency and promote them in all their dignity."

However, at this morning's meeting "the elections have not been discussed", explained Lozano, who stated that "We talked about the situation of the country and the need to unite hearts and minds and to foster mutual understanding for the dialogue of those of us who are brothers in the same country. ".

With this last group, more than 100 Argentine bishops have pbaded through Rome during the last three weeks for the visit to be effective. "ad limina", a Vatican institution that allows pastors from different countries to visit the main institutions of the Roman Curia every five years to report on the state of their dioceses.

The last visit of Argentina had taken place in 2009, when the cardinal of the time Jorge Bergoglio chaired the Argentine Episcopal Conference (CEA) and the pope was Benedict XVI.