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The pope greets a young girl outside the Vatican.
http://www.rferl.org/content/pope-francis-catholic-change/25116130.html
Setting: A Cardiologist’s Waiting Room
Francis: Hi.
Girl: Hey!
Francis: My name is Jorge. /HOR-he/
Girl: Hola, Jorge. My Mom would tell me to call you Grandpa.
Francis: Would you like to call me Grandpa?
Girl: No, my Grandpas are both dead.
Francis: What did they die of?
Girl: Heart attack. That’s why my Dad and Mom are seeing this heart doctor.
Francis: Tell me your name.
Girl: Later. Why are you here? Are you also scared of a heart attack?
Francis: No. I’m ready to go anytime.
Girl: Where are you going?
Francis: To heaven, I hope.
Girl: Do you know where it is?
Francis: Not quite. That’s why I can only hope.
Girl: When my Dad gave my Mom a new car, she said it’s heaven.
Francis: There are all sorts of heaven. Just like love. Some love ice cream.
Girl: I love ice cream. Chocolate and vanilla. Plain. No nuts.
Francis: Do you love people?
Girl: Some. I hate nuts.
Francis: Nuts in ice cream?
Girl: People who are nuts.
Francis: Do you know anyone who’s a nut?
Girl: Yes, the new pope is a nut.
Francis: (smiling) Is he? Why is that?
Girl: When he was a Cardinal in Argentina, he took the bus.
Francis: Maybe he didn’t have a car.
Girl: But he was a Cardinal. Even priests have cars.
Francis: You said you hate nuts and you think the new pope is a nut. So, do you
hate the new pope?
Girl: Not really.
Francis: That’s good. There’s room for hope.
Girl: What’s hope?
Francis: When you go to bed at night looking ahead to a new day.
Girl: I never look ahead to a new day.
Francis: You never think of what you’re going to do tomorrow?
Girl: I used to, but I always get hurt.
Francis: (moved) Because tomorrow doesn’t turn out the way you imagined it?
Girl: Worse! Tomorrow never comes! I keep hoping, but it never comes!
Francis: Tell me your name.
Girl: (no answer)
Francis: I will you call you Maria… Maria, sometimes, God seems asleep. Or
too busy elsewhere. But he’s God. We are his creatures. We must
remain humble, and hopeful.
Girl: There’s no hope for me. I’m dying. I have cancer of the bones. Look at
my knees.
Francis: (shocked) Maria…. my child… (holds the child’s face)
Girl: Your hands are warm. (child closes her eyes)
Francis: Some die from cancer. Some don’t. You must take out the bitterness
from your heart. Remain humble, and hopeful.
Girl: I don’t want to die! (weeps)
Francis: Have faith, Maria. Let there be room in your heart for God!
Girl: Is there room in your heart for God?
Francis: Yes! God’s love and mercy are infinite!
(Voice-Over) : Pope Francis, please go to Room 108. Thank you for waiting.
Francis: (stands up) I will pray for you, Maria, my child.