The bishops put pressure on the pope to go to Argentina: "Do not deprive yourself of the joy of visiting us"

"Do not deprive yourself of the joy of visiting us" This will be the message that the Bishops of the Argentine Episcopal Conference (CEA) will send to Pope Francis during their trip to the Vatican between the end of April and the beginning of May.

Although it is not a formal request, it is a question of First declaration of the episcopate on the decision of the pontiff not to visit Argentina since his election on March 13, 2013, revealing the strained relations between the president Mauricio Macri and the head of the Catholic Church.

In a letter addressed to the Vatican on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of Francis's inauguration, the bishops expressed their "affectionate and fraternal" greetings and underlined their "exemplary austerity, their relentless perseverance, their constant availability, numerous details and delicacies with so many people and situations that emerge spontaneously in his memory ".

They planned to ask Francisco "not to deprive himself of the joy" of going to Argentina for the first time of his pontificate. After the trip to the Vatican, they will tell you that, during the traditional "ad limina" visit, all the bishops of the world must do to the Pope every five years.

"At our next meeting with him, we will propose once again that he does not deprive himself of the joy of visiting us," they said in a statement that they had broadcast as part of its first plenary meeting of the year in Pilar.

Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013 and from that time he did not return to his native country. Although on several occasions he was very close geographically, he traveled to Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador and Chile.

CEA members will travel to the Vatican for the first "ad limina" visit of the Francisco era between April 28 and May 18. "The bishops will make a pilgrimage to Rome, presenting a detailed report on the pastoral reality of each of the dioceses in the country," the church said.

The full statement of the Church

Today, March 13, we celebrate the sixth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis and it is an opportunity to give thanks to God for what he has given us. in him.

Talking about the Pope, after Jesus and the Virgin, touches the spinal cord of the Catholic pilgrim church. The bishops will soon travel to Rome for the traditional visit and, in our Jorge Bergoglio, we will go to see Pedro.

We admire recognizing in you an exemplary austerity, tireless work, constant availability, many details and delicacies with so many people and situations that emerge spontaneously in your memory. It infects its peace and strength amid great challenges, such as the painful drama of abuse. He has a look that goes beyond the immediate and knows how to say a word illuminating the walls that often stop us. Can innovate boldly without neglecting respect for people.

His teachings were embodied by so many gestures and words that moved us all the more, from his first trip from Rome to the island of Lampedusa, when he had embraced the "abandoned humanity" of migrants Africans, survivors of the Mediterranean. This option for the poorest was reflected in various works of mercy, as in cordial lunches with the poor of Rome; or go to prisons, rehabilitation homes and so many existential peripheries, which are a priority in their missionary journeys.

In reference worldwide He proposed a clear, gentle, confident and cautious dialogue, approach the most diverse interlocutors. He put joy in the Church, the joy of the Gospel, because he finally invited us to look at the essential: the Father God who loves us, the living Christ who saves us. He immersed us in the great river of mercy and renewed the missionary enthusiasm of the Holy Spirit. We can not stop saying that all this is happening in a very Argentine pope, with his mischief, his good mood, his spark and his exits that identify him, inventing words or phrases each time.

Faced with the daring of their dreams and desires, we often fail, simply because it is difficult for us to follow them.

We imagine the joy that Francisco had when he decided to canonize the holy Cura Brochero, to beatify Mama Antula and martyrs of Riojano. At our next meeting with him, we will propose again that he does not deprive himself of the joy of visiting us.

Do not forget to pray for him!