The convention in Florence has ended. “A New Humanism in Christ Jesus”. How are we to read the deeper significance of this event for the Church in Italy? “It could be read in many ways, but I think it was a decisive and historic moment for the Italian Church: first of all, because of the strong message that Pope Francis delivered to the 2000 delegates in the presence of the entire Bishops Conference. The event occurs in the heart of the pontificate, in a moment when reform is pressing and concrete. With Pope Francis’s desire for reform as its mirror, the Church in Italy is inexorably called to reform itself. The Pope’s speech is above all a call to conversion at every level: conversion of people, of communities, of structures. . .” What were the main points the Pope made in his speech? “The first was the image that the Pope presented: the Ecce Homo (Behold the Man): A Christ who has been stripped down, who does not entrust himself to procedures, nor to organisations; who does not pretend to occupy places of authority, but who takes on the sufferings of humanity. That is Jesus in his true essence, in his mission as the one sent by the Father for the salvation of all. This was the first point. Then, the Pope invited the Italian Church to be more in keeping with the Gospel, to be more as the Holy Spirit wants it to be at this moment in time. As he put it, only a Church that is able to be humble, disinterested, and reflect the Beatitudes can resemble this Teacher, this Ecce Homo, and present itself to society as love. On the other hand, the Pope radicalised Christian humanism while warning of the two risks that he mentioned: the risk of Pelagianism, which is the temptation to want to do it on our own, trusting solely in our own ability, in our own tools, in our power and in the ability to programme. He also warned of the risk of Gnosticism, the risk of disembodiment, of one’s own non-incarnation. That would be presenting a Jesus whom you cannot touch with your hands, whom you cannot hold on to. The actualisation of Christian humanism must begin from Jesus. It must be centred in Him, not in our strengths. It must be incarnated, embodied. It cannot be left in the documents, in the proclamations nor even in the beautiful works of art that we have seen here in Florence. Christian humanism has to be incarnated in the life of the people.” Fifty per cent of the people attending the event were laity. That indicates a force of the Church that wants to join the game. What was new in the work groups? “One of the novelties in Florence was methodology. The day and a half devoted to work groups made it possible for more people to participate actively, to give themselves. But if, out of 2000 people, a half is still clergy, then it is not yet sufficient, because Italian society is not like that. There are women, yes, but still too few; young people, but still too few. Let’s hope that we continue along these lines, towards better representation.” Any hot impressions after having attended the Convention? “There was a beautiful climate of openness, cordiality in the deepest sense where everyone mixes in with everyone else, bishops and priests sitting down and having lunch with the participants…. That in itself created a great family atmosphere and therefore enthusiasm, happiness, sharing and communion, a deep desire to listen that makes us hope.”