On Wednesday, May 7, Cardinal Guatemalan ÁLVARO LEONEL RAMAZZINI IMERI will participate in your first conclavethe meeting held by the Cardinal College of the Catholic Church to choose the new Dadand it is expected that the one born in the capital city shows the same spirit with which he has guided his ministry for decades.
For the cardinal of 77 yearsit is important that the Gospel (The doctrine that includes salvation, sanctification and healing) is not preached “in abstract”, so their goal must be to reach all migrants, poor and indigenous in the highlands of Guatemala; considering that since 2012 he is the bishop of the diocese of Huehuetenango.
The only Cardinal of Guatemala who will participate in the 2025 conclave is confident that the immigration It will be a priority for the next Supreme Pontiff, taking into consideration that defending immigrants was a priority of the Pope Francis, who was in charge of appointing Cardinal to Álvaro Ramazzini in January 2019.
According to the Guatemalan, to be elevated to the maximum hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church did not disturb him at any time. However, the bishop of Huehuetenango realized that Guatemala is fighting “political agitation and remains a hot point of migration to the United States “, So your commitment changed.
Ramazzini’s statements before conclave
“It is a duty of consciousness for the cardinals, now that we have the responsibility of appointing a new Pope, that we do not lose sight that we have been moving along a path and that this path needs to continue growing”Ramazzini said four days before Catholic cardinals meet to choose Francisco’s successor.
“I am talking about supporting, receiving and protecting the rights of migrants“Ramazzini added during an interview cited by the American newspaper Chicago Tribunewhere the Guatemalan said that the Church has to advocate all the people forced by the poverty to migrate along criminal controlled routes.
According to Cardinal Guatemalteco, migrants are often extorted either traffickedso the Catholic Church should help them “with shelters and any other humanitarian aid “, with the aim of pressing the authorities to arise a new Comprehensive immigration reform that benefits the homeless.
“But we have not achieved this,” Ramazzini said during the interview with the American media. “We do not succeed with the president Bill Clintonwe do not succeed with the president Barack Obamawe do not succeed with the president Joe Biden And much less we will achieve it with Donald Trump “the Guatemalan added on Saturday, May 3.
Even so, Cardinal Guatemalan Álvaro Ramazzini considers that the Church should not abandon Immigrants: “Moreover, the Vatican authorities should advocate for the Social Justice, Peace and Economic Relations more just among the countries that began to gain prominence and reached new heights under Francisco, “he added.
“There is a line of continuity on the subject of migration and I am sure it will be a task for the next Pope. We need to be the voice of all people who often do not have access to Pressure groups to which we can get, “added the cardinal while in an order founded by an Italian bishop in the nineteenth century.
“This is the real spiritualitythat feeds on prayer, of the reflection on the Word of God, but that has to project towards the other. The next Pope will have his own ideas, but the important thing is that no one forgets that this cannot happen without specifically putting into practice the Gospel“The Guatemalan concluded.