In his new autobiography, which will be published in January, Francis talks about his acquaintance with four (!) prostitutes.
In
the chapter "The prostitutes who will be among the first in the Kingdom
of God," Francis recalls his youth in the Buenos Aires district Barrio.
He met a hairdresser and her sister, who both worked as prostitutes: "They earned some extra money by washing and laying."
He
knew two other prostitutes in the neighbourhood. They served a 'higher
class', were picked up by car and were called Ciche and Porota.
When
Francis became Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires, Porota called him and
asked to see him. Francis received her in the bishop's house, "It must
have been in 1993."
Porota told him that she had experienced a
lot, but the death of an important lover had changed her life. From then
on, she was no longer a prostitute, but a caregiver in a home for the
elderly. Francis raves about her and calls her "a modern Mary
Magdalene". Her language was "memorable and imaginative".
On her
deathbed, she called Francis one last time, asking for the anointing of
the sick and Communion. "In between, she cursed a doctor and shouted at
another patient. She hadn't lost her bite, not even at the end."
And: "I really liked her and always say a prayer for her on the anniversary of her death."
The
description of such experiences fits seamlessly into the image a priest
who has never had any real pastoral experience and therefore tends to
see these things through rose-coloured spectacles.
Picture: © Mazur, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsUvaxouusrb