Selecting new Pope 'a great responsibility': Cardinals
March 2, 2013: Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico, who participated in the
conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, stressed the great responsibility undertaken
by the cardinals who will choose the next Pope. In an interview with CNA on Feb. 21,
Cardinal Lozano Barragan explained that participating in a conclave is “a very beautiful
experience,” but because of the responsibility it entails, it is “not at all desirable.”
“First
of all it means being responsible before God and then before the entire world,” he
said, noting that it is “no small thing” to choose someone with the “ability to be
the center of unity and strength for the 1.2 billion Catholics throughout the world.”
During the conclaves, he explained, the cardinals become instruments of the Holy Spirit
to elect a new Pope, and therefore, “they have to be up to the task.”
Cardinal
Lozano turned 80 in January and is therefore not eligible to vote in the upcoming
conclave in March. However, he recalled his experience during the 2005 conclave, saying
that the cardinals believed Cardinal Ratzinger to be the man most suited to be Pope.
“I think that with the help of the Holy Spirit we were not wrong,” he said.
Cardinal
Lozano worked for years at the Vatican as president of the Pontifical Council for
Health Care, and he has known Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for 32 years. He served as
special secretary to Benedict – who was simply known as Cardinal Ratzinger at the
time – for a little over a year doing work for the 1980 Synod of Bishops on the family.
In
addition, he said that then-Cardinal Ratzinger was the first to congratulate him when
he was made a cardinal by Blessed John Paul II in 2003.
The Mexican cardinal
recalled his close friendship with Benedict XVI and said that when he was elected
Pope, “I wanted to kneel down to greet him according to protocol but he wouldn’t let
me. He said, ‘We have known each other for 25 years.’”
Cardinal Lozano said
that Benedict XVI was a Pope with a deep understanding of our times.
“He was
not a static Pope, he was a Pope who always looked to future,” the cardinal explained.
In resigning from the papacy, he added, Benedict XVI showed “great sincerity” and
was an example for many.
“I am sure that he will continue to sustain the Church
with his prayers and his study,” Cardinal Lozano said.