The pandemic has hindered Pope Francis' ability to communicate his teachings and promote his causes, from the environment to the rights of migrants, as well as his efforts to tackle the Vatican's financial troubles.

The lack of public events and personal interactions are particular burdens for a pope who is more at home communicating with crowds than in dealing with the Vatican's bureaucracy.

Even before the pandemic, the early progressive trend of his pontificate, exemplified by openings toward divorced and gay Catholics, had run out of momentum amid internal church divisions.

A series of scandals over clerical sex abuse of minors in various countries around the world, as well as affairs involving financial mismanagement at the Vatican, had cast a shadow on the institution.

Now, in the eighth year of the 83-year-old pope's reign, some Vatican insiders and observers are even looking toward its end.

"The Next Pope" is the title of two books scheduled for publication over the next few weeks. Both are by conservative authors, but conservatives aren't the only ones feeling restless.

"On some issues the potential for institutional change by Pope Francis seems to have reached a limit," said Massimo Faggioli, a theologian who has been one of the pope's most enthusiastic supporters.

He cited the pope's recent decision not to loosen rules on priestly celibacy and his resistance to the ordination of women as deacons, a lower rank of clergy.

On both issues, the lack of change disappointed progressive Catholics.

Mr. Faggioli wrote in an article this spring that "supporters of Pope Francis and his efforts to reform the Catholic Church are concerned that the dynamism of his pontificate has begun to wane."

A reason for this, he says, could be a desire to maintain unity between liberal Catholics and the pope's increasingly vocal conservative critics.

Progressives remain happy with Pope Francis' emphasis on social and economic justice and the environment.

But the pandemic has sharply curtailed his ability to promote such causes, even though he believes the global health and economic crisis has made doing so all the more urgent.

"The stakes are his place at the table to shape the post coronavirus world order," said John Allen, president of Crux Catholic Media and the author of numerous books on the Vatican.

"If he is not able, because of the inability to travel or the inability to do big public events in Rome, to project himself into the conversation, then he loses a measure of relevance."

Major papal events have been postponed until as late as 2023.

The pope has ceased to travel, and most of his appearances at the Vatican now take place on video with only a small audience physically present.

The one-on-one encounters that once provided some of the most compelling images of his reign have become all but impossible.

He is currently on his annual "staycation," skipping his weekly public audiences to rest within Vatican walls for the month of July.

Pope Francis made some memorable appearances during the darkest period of Italy's coronavirus outbreak this spring, including a dramatic ceremony in an empty St. Peter's Square and morning Masses seen by millions on TV and the internet.

But the Vatican stopped transmitting the Masses in May once churches in Italy reopened, and since the reopening of the economy in Italy and elsewhere, the pope's relative solitude has been less representative of his flock.

"He was very good at using the image of the desert, but now that we are no longer in the desert he has to invent new forms of communication," said Sandro Magister, a Vatican expert who writes for Italy's L'Espresso magazine. Continue reading

He is voicing the growing international concern about the vast tracts of tropical forest ravaged by blazes in Brazil and neighbouring countries.

A Boeing SuperTanker and six other planes have been deployed to help extinguish the fires. Local people have also been helping firefighters to stop the flames from spreading.

"We came as volunteers to help to control these flames, but they just seem to be taking hold faster," said a local resident and volunteer firefighter.

"We go to any place and it continues spreading. We need everyone to come and help us because alone we are not enough," added another volunteer.

Almost 650 new fires started over the weekend according to the Bolivian Forest and Land Authority.

Speaking during Sunday Angelus the Pontiff warned of the far-reaching repercussions:

"Let us pray so that, with the efforts of all, they are controlled as quickly as possible. The lungs of the forests are vital for our planet."

Experts believe the fires started after Brazil's populist leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, approved the removal of rainforest protections, allowing for deforestation.

World leader members of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) meeting in France, have been discussing how to contain the wildfires.

French president Emmanuel Macron has made the Amazon a priority of the summit, declaring it a global emergency. He is threatening to block a trade deal between the EU and the South American common market, Mercosur, until the fires are extinguished.

Ireland says it will join France's boycott if Bolsonaro doesn't change his Amazon policy.

The agenda prompted criticism from US President Donald Trump who says Macron is focussing too much on "niche" issues designed to play well with French voters, such as climate change, income and gender equality and African development.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is blocking the Mercosur trade deal over the Amazon fires.

Despite the apparent dissent among the G7 representatives, Macron says a consensus was emerging about how to put out the fires and repair the damage.

The Latin American Bishops are describing the fires as a "tremendous natural tragedy."

Source

• The Tablet
• Euro News
• The Telegraph
• Image: Al Jazeera