Loris Zanatta: "It is not an insult to call Pope Francis a populist"
(Buenos Aires) On 1 August, Clarin, the largest Argentine daily newspaper, published an editorial by Ricardo Roa, criticizing the "alarming silence" of Pope Francis to the state crisis in Venezuela. It was quoted by Loris Zanatta, professor of Latin American history at the University of Bologna. An interview was published in the current August issue of the Argentine economic magazine, Fortuna, with Zanatta about "the phenomenon of populism in Latin America and especially in Argentina." The historian was asked for a brief statement about various personalities - among them Pope Francis:
Fortuna: Pope Francis?
Title of "Fortuna" with reference to the Zanatta interview
Zanatta: It is no insult to say that he is a typical representative of Latin populism. His idea is that there is a people that is above the political agreements and the constitutional people and is the guardian of historical legitimacy: the people of God. No pope has so often used the word people. Pope Francis does not distinguish economic liberalism from political liberalism. He often uses the word pluralism against the market, which, he says, homogenizes the world, destroys cultures and peoples. His idea of pluralism is that of peoples and cultures, which are generally not pluralistic. His point of view is that of Latin Catholicism: the poor are the protectors of the Catholic virtues. They are the true people. The others are not, even if they win elections.
The evidence of the Peronian expert Zanatta reflects the Latin aspect in the pontificate of Pope Francis, but they do not explain - if they are correct - why Francis does not seem to pay attention to the peoples and cultures of Europe by his demand for unrestricted immigration. The philosopher and former Italian senate president Marcello Pera, a friend of Benedict XVI, accused Francis of promoting mass immigration out of "hate against the West".
The monthly magazine Fortuna appears by the publisher Perfil and has nothing to do with the media publisher of the daily Clarin.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Fortuna (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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