Por segundo día consecutivo, miles de fieles se congregaron este martes en la Plaza de San Pedro para rezar por el eterno descanso del papa Francisco, fallecido el lunes. La ceremonia, que comenzó a las 19:30, fue presidida por el cardenal italiano Giovanni Battista Re, decano del Colegio Cardenalicio.

En un acto marcado por la emoción y el recogimiento, el cardenal recordó las palabras que tantas veces pronunció el Papa: “No se olviden de rezar por mí”. Con esa evocación, Re introdujo el Santo Rosario por el alma del pontífice, fallecido a los 88 años a causa de un derrame cerebral en su residencia de Casa Santa Marta.

Durante su intervención, el cardenal de 91 años subrayó la esperanza cristiana en la resurrección. “Sabemos que la muerte no es una puerta que se cierra, sino la entrada en la Jerusalén celestial”, dijo. E invitó a los presentes a “dar gracias al Señor por los dones concedidos a toda la Iglesia a través del ministerio apostólico del papa Francisco, peregrino de esperanza que no defrauda”.

Frente a la imagen de María Mater Ecclesiae, adornada con flores blancas y rosas, se encomendó al Pontífice a la intercesión de la Virgen. “Unido a tantos hermanos y hermanas esparcidos por el mundo”, dijo Re, “formamos todo el rebaño de Cristo, el buen Pastor, que reza por el Papa Francisco contemplando los misterios gloriosos de nuestro Salvador”.

A la oración asistieron peregrinos de diversas partes del mundo, muchos de ellos con ejemplares de la edición extraordinaria de L’Osservatore Romano, publicada el 21 de abril y dedicada al fallecimiento del Pontífice. La tarde, de clima cálido y tranquilo, estuvo marcada por un silencio solemne, solo interrumpido por el rezo del Rosario y el canto final de la Salve Regina.

Las cuentas de los rosarios se agitaban suavemente por la brisa vespertina, al tiempo que las antorchas encendidas creaban una atmósfera de recogimiento. La ceremonia culminó con aplausos tras la bendición final del Cardenal Re.

Horas antes, se celebró en el Vaticano la primera Congregación General del Colegio Cardenalicio, con la participación de unos sesenta cardenales. En esta reunión, los purpurados juraron respetar el orden canónico y comenzaron a planificar los pasos inmediatos tras la muerte del Papa: el funeral, el entierro y la organización del futuro cónclave que elegirá a su sucesor.

El funeral se celebrará el próximo sábado 26 de abril a las 10:00, en la misma Plaza de San Pedro, y será presidido por el Cardenal Re. El velatorio comenzará el miércoles en la Basílica de San Pedro, tras un breve periodo de capilla ardiente en privado en Santa Marta, reservado a los residentes del Vaticano y la Casa Pontificia.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, primer pontífice latinoamericano y el 266.º sucesor de Pedro, asumió el pontificado en marzo de 2013. Su estilo pastoral, marcado por la sencillez, la cercanía a los más pobres y una fuerte crítica al individualismo económico, transformó la imagen de la Iglesia en el siglo XXI. Durante su ministerio, defendió una “Iglesia en salida”, comprometida con las periferias sociales y espirituales.

Pese a las divisiones internas que generó en algunos sectores del Vaticano, el papa Francisco mantuvo firme su liderazgo, convocando sínodos, reformando la curia y enfrentando los desafíos de una Iglesia global en tiempos de crisis. Su última aparición pública fue el domingo de Pascua, cuando impartió la bendición desde el balcón central de la Basílica y recorrió la plaza en el papamóvil.

Mientras el mundo rinde homenaje al Papa fallecido, el Vaticano se prepara para la elección de un nuevo líder espiritual. Las próximas sesiones del Colegio Cardenalicio establecerán la fecha del cónclave, el cual deberá celebrarse en la Capilla Sixtina con la participación de los cardenales electores menores de 80 años.

Speaking at the White House Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump blasted courts standing in the way of his administration’s immigration agenda of deporting «some very bad people,» who he said include «killers, murderers, drug dealers.»

The president touted his administration’s progress in shutting down the border and cracking down on illegal immigration, saying, «Honestly, it’s one of the great successes; we have virtually nobody coming in illegally.»

He noted, however, that certain rulings against his deportations pose a threat to his efforts to secure the country.

«I hope we get cooperation from the courts, because, you know, we have thousands of people that are ready to go out, and you can’t have a trial for all of these people,» he said. «It wasn’t meant–the system wasn’t meant–and we don’t think there’s anything that says that.»

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Since Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January, his administration has faced hundreds of lawsuits targeting his executive orders and actions, some of which have resulted in nationwide injunctions.

The Supreme Court is set to hear a case on May 15 about three federal judges who issued separate nationwide injunctions blocking an executive order by Trump ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. 

On Mar. 15, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a ruling temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport criminal illegal alien gang members to El Salvador.  

Trump said that court rulings slowing down his deportation agenda could lead to a «very dangerous country.»

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«We were having hundreds of thousands of people a month come in under Biden, and they came in from prisons. They came in from mental institutions. They came in from gangs in Venezuela and other countries all over the world, not just South America. They were emptying their prisons into the United States, Venezuela emptied its prisons out, but many countries emptied their prisons into the Congo as an example, in Africa, emptied their prisons into the United States,» he said.

«I won an election based on the fact that we get them out,» he went on. «We’re getting them out and a judge can say, ‘No, you have to have a trial’ … the trials going to take two years, and now we’re going to have a very dangerous country if we’re not allowed to do what we’re entitled to do.»

Trump also addressed his administration’s ongoing trade war with China, saying it is up to China to make a deal work.

«Ultimately, they have to make a deal because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States,» he said. «And we want them involved but they have to, and other countries have to make a deal. And if they don’t make a deal, we’ll set the deal because we’re the ones that set the deal.»

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Chinese President Xi Jinping adjusts his jacket as he stands to sing the national anthem at the closing session of the National People’s Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The president said he expects that in whichever deal is ultimately reached, the current 145 percent tariff against China will be much lower, but noted it «won’t be zero» either.

«It used to be zero. We were just destroyed. China was taking us for a ride and it’s just not going to happen,» he said. «We’re going to be very good to China, I have a great relationship with President XI. But they would make billions and billions and billions of dollars a year, and they would build their military out of the United States on what they made so that won’t happen.»

«But they’re going to do very well,» he continued. «And I think they’re going to be happy and I think we’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together. So, I think it’s going to work out very well.»

During the Q and A Trump also put to bed rumors that he would be firing Jerome Powell from his role as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve over a disagreement about lowering interest rates.

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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 21: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell listens during an open session of a Financial Stability Oversight Council meeting at the Department of the Treasury on April 21, 2023, in Washington, DC. The FSOC proposed on Friday a new guidance to revise how non-bank financial institutions are designated.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In response to a question on whether he had any intention to fire Powell, Trump replied, «None whatsoever. Never did.»

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«The press runs away with things. No, I have no intention of firing him,» said Trump.

«I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,» he noted, adding, «This is a perfect time to lower interest rates. If he doesn’t, is it the end? No, it’s not, but it would be good timing. It would be it which could have taken place earlier. But, no, I have no intention to fire him.»