Never before had a superior in charge of a religious congregation been created a cardinal. And, another peculiarity of Fr Á.F. Artime’s appointment is that he is not even a bishop. “I will continue to be the same, with a different responsibility, but profoundly human and solidly grounded” the Rector Major confided to Cadena COPE journalist Angel Expósito.
The 10th Successor of Don Bosco confessed that he had learned of his appointment when the Holy Father announced it at the Angelus, and that he in no way expected it. “We didn't know anything about it. I was looking at a few things with a Salesian Provincial and when they told me I thought there was a mistake.”
On 11 July, when the Rector Major was received in audience by the Pope to receive his instructions regarding the steps following this appointment, Fr Á.F. Artime – who has known the Pope since the time they were serving together in Buenos Aires – told him confidently: “Holy Father, allow me to remind you of one thing: 10 years ago, when you welcomed all the 267 Salesians in the Clementine Hall at the 27th General Chapter (Ed.comment: who had elected him Rector Major for the first term),you said to me: ‘Hey, Gallego, what have they done to you!’ And now it is I who am saying to you: ‘Holy Father, what have you done to me?’ And I must say that the Pope reacted with genuine, heartfelt laughter.
“A Salesian never stops being a Salesian, right?” the journalist asked Fr Á.F. Artime, who said he “feels very happy to accompany young people in their life. It is in my DNA, and wherever I go and whatever I am asked to do, there will always be attention to the young, to education, to the most vulnerable, and this is what I will be able to offer, together with my personal style, to my new service, where I will try to give the best of myself, through dialogue and respect for diversity.”
Other topics were also touched upon in the interview. Regarding vocational training, the future cardinal reported: “Don Bosco started the closest thing to vocational training with the first boys in Turin. It had other precedents, such as with St Philip Neri. But that is where the Salesian mission began, where Don Bosco began to teach trades to the youngest ones, where young people of all religions and nationalities end up finding a place in life and where their dignity was valued.
Finally, on the issue of migration and refugees, he commented: “On a day like this, 68 million people are on the move in the world… It is one thing to want to be concerned about security, but we must bear in mind that someone who is simply different is not a danger. Because if there is anything I have learned in my travels through the Salesian world, in the 118 countries I have visited, it is how rich diversity is! It is something that needs to be taken into account and the first thing to get to know is why these people move and why they emigrate. And if there is anyone who knows migration well, it is us Spaniards”, concluded the Cardinal designate concerning this situation “which cannot be forgotten”.
