"The Pope gave us politicians a tremendous lesson."

247 - Despite the setbacks in organizing World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Gilberto Carvalho, said that the government's assessment is that "the country received a gift" with the Pope's visit. "The assessment is that the event far exceeded expectations. There were infrastructure and logistical problems; the city is under stress. But it was the biggest event in Rio, and the city passed the test. The waterfront was beautiful this afternoon," said the minister.

According to Carvalho, President Dilma Rousseff personally thanked Pope Francis for choosing Brazil and for the type of preaching the pontiff delivered. Dilma also praised the speech at the Municipal Theater in Rio, in which Francis mentioned politics as a service.

"The Pope gave us politicians, and the Church, a tremendous lesson," said Carvalho, referring to the pontiff's humble style. "When he goes to meet the people and says that the shepherd must smell like sheep, he shows that it is important to come down from the pedestal and be close to the people," commented the minister, for whom the Pope's speech on corruption "is in line with the political reform that we need to carry out in the country."

Reform

Carvalho made a point of emphasizing that "it's not Dilma's reform or anyone else's." "It's the political reform that the country needs, provoking and opening up popular participation for dialogue," he added. For him, the Pope gave Brazil a "boost of high spirits." "We were in a low-spirited mood with the protests, which is good and necessary," he said, adding: "But the journey completes the demonstrations in the sense of the value of fraternity and building solidarity."

Commenting on the shortcomings in the event's organization, Carvalho said that the lesson for future events is "plan, plan, and plan." "We have to learn from each event. The World Cup and the Olympics won't have this kind of audience in a single city. Problems don't diminish the brilliance and success of the event," he argued.