Cardinal Ruini's Testament: "Francis Reopened Wounds"

MessaInLatino.it published today the spiritual testament of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, signed on June 3, 2016. He died on June 16, 2026 at the age of 95.
Cardinal Ruini's testament is a personal reflection on his life, giving thanks to God for his family, vocation, and ministry in the Church.
More than 90% of the sentences are written in the first person singular, with verbs such as ringrazio ('I thank'), confesso ('I confess'), ho cercato ('I have tried'), and sono stato ('I have been') making Ruini the grammatical subject in nearly every sentence. The testament provides a detailed account of his family life, his work as a priest and bishop, his collaborations, and his public importance. A sympathetic reading of his frequent use of first-person pronouns (I, me, my, mine) might suggest that spiritual testaments traditionally belong to an autobiographical and introspective literary genre.
The paragraph that focuses least on himself is the best one, dealing with Pope Francis's pontificate: …More