Who would Ángel Fernández Artime be today if he had not known the Salesians?
Had I not known the Salesians, I was going to be a fisherman, like my cousins or my father. That was my future. But once I was able to study more, thanks to the Salesians, I thought I would be a doctor. I liked medicine so much; I had thought of starting my college studies towards it. But then, the mystery of God that makes you feel something special in your heart... I remember that already as I was to begin my college studies, I felt I had to talk to my parents about it. And the answer, which I cannot but see as a mediation from God, was: 'Son, this is your life. If it makes you happy, go!". That was the whole discernment.
So, in the end you became the 'fisherman of the Young'!
I don't know if I can be called as such! But I have certainly always felt very happy among young people. And I don't want to say that it is always very easy… like a party… every day. But I must admit that I have found many reasons for joy, for stimulation in sharing my life with young people. The earliest youth groups I had accompanied are now already parents themselves. But, the extraordinary memory of what I experienced with them remains fresh in my memory.
How is the new life as a Cardinal going on?
I do not know if one can call it a "new life". As the Holy Father has indicated to me, I still have a few more months as the Rector Major before receiving the assignment he deems appropriate. We are a large Congregation, and the Superior General cannot disappear every other day for something or other. The Holy Father is aware of this, and so he has asked us to convoke the General Chapter and then we will talk about the rest. So, for now, I am continuing my life as a Salesian, as the Rector Major, and concluding many things. At the same time, am also careful to attend to the appointments of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, besides the celebrations of the Pope, whenever I am in Rome.
But I can say that I continue my life with enthusiasm, serenity and maintain the same level of service I have done over the years.
In view of the feast of Don Bosco, can we say that Salesian spirituality makes a difference in the life of the Church?
Well, I can't say it exactly like that... But I believe that we too must make our own unique contribution to a complex reality like a part of mosaic art. Following up on Don Bosco's legacy, this means having in our hearts the desire to be with young people and in their midst, to share the journey of life, with its difficulties. And not just to be simply 'friends' or with lip-service. Because young people today need witnesses above all.
Can the Church make itself understood by young people today?
First of all, young people of today are so different and unique, even though they have so much in common. Which young people are we talking about? Those who live in really dramatic situations of dependency? or the small part of whom went to World Youth Day at Lisbon? or those who are in within the educational ambit of the Church? or those who just don't want to know us? The fundamental question is: "What are young people looking for today? And what do we, as educators, do?” I do not believe that young people of today do not want to know about God… much less that they do not seek meaning in life. That would be an incorrect judgement. What is true is that we cannot expect young people to come to us… We are duty bound to reach them.
But the reality is that, all over the world, young people are open and available to be reached if they find someone who can be their educators, be their friends – at times even their own parents, because in so many parts of the world fatherhood and motherhood are so lacking...
The Church is changing. Is it possible to find space for the laity in Church structures?
Absolutely. The starting point is the Second Vatican Council, where there is a whole ecclesiology in which the laity receive their rightful recognition and place. And the Holy Father, in his service in recent years, is showing that there is absolutely a place for the laity and also for women, both lay and consecrated.
In our Salesian experience, we have hundreds of thousands of lay people working or providing voluntary service in the different presences across the world. And today the Salesian mission would be unthinkable without the presence of so many lay people, with a great Salesian and Christian identity - where there are Christians - and others, from their own faiths, but always with a great charismatic identity, as educators.
What are the dreams of the Church for the future?
I must say in all sincerity that I find myself in absolute harmony with the dream, which I see becoming reality… of the Church, of our Pope, who today is Pope Francis and earlier it was Benedict XVI. From Don Bosco, we Salesians have learnt to always say "Long live the Pope!". I dream of a Church that, when others look at it, they can say: 'See how beautiful, how they love each other! See how they seek the good of all humanity!". And how true it is that this is a Church with open doors, of listening, able to say yes at times, and no at other times if we are wrong. A Church that suffers with those who suffer. I dream of a free Church, that is free of interests, and strong enough to be able to say what in the name of Jesus cannot be accepted.
And in the midst of the 1.4 billion people, also the pastors, make their way along with the people of God. I repeat what I have always said in my Congregation, for which I have always fought and which will remain valid even when the Holy Father wants to assign me a new service, and that is -that we are not a caste, we are not an elite. The Gospel says nothing about elites! Authority is about service, and we must meditate on this and repeat it every day.
The video of the interview, conducted in Italian, remains available on TGCOM 24's YouTube channel.
