Before conclave, cardinal warns of cruelty hidden behind 'elegant speeches'

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the Catholic Church's cardinals prepare to elect a new pope, they must be wary of "elegant speeches" that hide a subtle cruelty toward the poor and vulnerable, said the Vatican's former doctrinal chief.

Celebrating a memorial Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica May 1, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, former prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, warned that disrespect for the poor can be expressed not only in openly "cruel and vain" terms, but also in refined language.

"Those words" -- such as calling the poor "lazy," he said -- "are also found hidden behind other, more elegant speeches."

Cardinal Fernández celebrated Mass with cardinals on the sixth day of the "novendiali" -- nine days of mourning for Pope Francis marked by Masses. The cardinals did not gather for their general congregation meetings earlier in the day since May 1 is a holiday for Vatican City State to observe the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. It also is the equivalent of Labor Day in Italy and many other countries.

With members of the Roman Curia were seated in the front rows, the cardinal said that distorted ideas of merit and success -- what Pope Francis denounced as "false meritocracy" -- risk obscuring the Gospel truth of human dignity.

"False meritocracy," the cardinal said, "leads us to think that only those who have succeeded in life are worthy." Instead, through his ministry, Pope Francis "launched a prophetic cry against this false idea," he said, rejecting a view that sees failure as a moral fault and success as proof of virtue.

Reflecting on the life and message of Pope Francis just days before the cardinals begin the process of choosing his successor, Cardinal Fernández pointed to the late pope's insistence that every person, regardless of status or background, possesses an "immense dignity that is never lost, that in no way can be ignored or forgotten."

He recalled Pope Francis' belief that authentic help for the poor cannot stop at material aid, rather their dignity must be "promoted" by developing their God-given gifts and allowing them to support themselves.

"It is not enough to give things," the cardinal said. "Every person must be able to earn their bread with the gifts God has given them."

In this context, he said, labor is not simply an economic necessity but a path toward full human development. "Work," he said, quoting the late pope, "is the best help for a poor person."

Addressing his fellow cardinals and Vatican officials gathered in the basilica, Cardinal Fernández said the responsibilities of work apply to them as well. 

"We are workers who follow a schedule, who fulfill tasks entrusted to us, who must be responsible and make efforts and sacrifices in our obligations," he said. "The responsibility of work for us in the Curia is also a journey of maturation and fulfillment as Christians."

Concelebrating the Mass with Cardinal Fernández at the altar were four other cardinals who were senior officials of the Roman Curia under Pope Francis. 

The cardinal closed his homily by recalling Pope Francis not just as a teacher of the dignity of work, but as someone who lived it. 

"Even with very little strength in his final days, he found the strength to visit a prison," he said. 

The cardinal noted how Pope Francis famously never took a vacation, saying, "His daily work was his response to God's love, an expression of his concern for the good of others, and for these reasons work itself was his joy, his nourishment, his rest."

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