In this extraordinary conversation with Paolo Rodari, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, the theologian closest to Pope Francis, addresses in every detail the crucial aspects of this pontificate: the relationship between divine mercy and the emphasis on ethical requirements, the necessity of a church "outside" and in a permanent state of mission, the ecclesiastical resisitance in relation to the originality of Francis's proposal, the very strong sense of the "people" inherent in the mentality of this South American pope.