POPE FRANCESCO:
Let's go to your first. When I taught what look and what words I had towards believing children or of other religions ... But in Argentina there is a social phenomenon, which is the migratory phenomenon. After the two great wars there were migratory waves from Europe, also from Asia Minor and the Italians ... Do you think that 40% of Argentines have an Italian surname, almost the other 40 Spanish. Then Poles, Russians, all ... even Arabs, whom we called "Turks" because they came with the passport of the great Ottoman Empire. There is a mixture of blood, a strong mixed race in Argentina - I am the son of a migrant - and this has made a culture of coexistence. I went to public school and we always had companions from other religions. We were educated to coexistence: “There is a Jew, Russian ah ... Come, come! I am a friend of Russian! ". They said Russian because the majority of the Jews came from Odessa, some from Poland but the majority from Odessa. Then there was some Arab, Lebanese, Syrian ... "Ah, Turkish! Come come!". This was Mohammedan, this was Jewish ... But we all played football together, we were all friends. This has taught me so much, that we are all the same, all children of God and this purifies your gaze, it makes you human. In Argentina there is a small group of too closed Catholics who do not want Jews, do not want Muslims but this group, at least I have never liked it, is a group that is on the corner, they have a cultural magazine but they do not have incidence in society and when I taught I looked at them as they were, this is the secret. You must be consistent with your faith. It didn't occur to me and it doesn't have to be like saying to a boy or a girl: "You are Jewish, you are Muslim: come, be converted!". You be consistent with your faith and that consistency is what will make you mature. We are not in the times of the crusades. It's a bad thing but it made me suffer so much, a step of the "Chanson de Roland", when the Christians, the crusaders had won the Muslims and then a queue of all the Muslims was queued and the priest was in front of it and a soldier. The priest in front of the baptismal font and everyone came - read that passage - he asked: "Either the baptism or the sword". This has happened in history! They also do it with us Christians in other parts, they are also doing it, but what happened to us "shame" (shame) because it is a story of forced conversion, of not respecting the dignity of the person. This is why my experience was natural with people of other religions because my dad my dad's job was an accountant and he had so many Jewish business clients and they came home, it was normal and I didn't have this as a problem. But it must be normal. Nothing to leave them aside because they have another faith. And you. Damiano, what word would he use to convince someone to become a Christian ...
DAMIANO:
If you asked her a fundamental reason to start believing ...
POPE FRANCESCO:
The first is everything. In front of an unbeliever the last thing I have to do is try to convince him. Never. The last thing I have to do is speak. I have to live consistent with my faith. And it will be my testimony to awaken the curiosity of the other who says: "But why do you do this?". And yes I can speak there. But listen, never, never bring the gospel with proselytism. If someone says you are a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism, this is not a disciple of Jesus. Proselytism is not done, the Church does not grow by proselytism. Pope Benedict had said it, it grows by attraction, by testimony. Football teams do proselytism, this can be done, political parties can be done there but with faith no proselytism. And if someone says to me: "But why you?". Read, read, read the Gospel, this is my faith. But without pressure.
--end translation--
I don't see anything there that says "don't share your faith". He mostly seems to be saying that you should attract people to the faith by the life you live, not by your clever arguments.
Do you agree the believer should be advancing the Gospel in both word and deed?
I don’t see anything there that says “don’t share your faith”. He mostly seems to be saying that you should attract people to the faith by the life you live, not by your clever arguments.
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It’s an interesting thought philosophically, but one wonders how effectively the Faith would grow if people simply “lived their lives” and never “wore their faith on their sleave”. How would one know that one’s care for others stems from a faith in Jesus Christ? You certainly don’t have to be a Christian to be concerned with others material needs. To me it seems like a soft-way of attacking evangelizing. I wonder if the Apostles would share the same opinion about evangelization.
Do you think a pope who hides his pectoral cross whenever he is in the presence of Jews or muslims is living his faith?
How about a pope who refuses to make the sign of the cross when giving an apostolic blessing for fear of offending non-Christians? Or a pope who refuses to kneel or even genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament? Or a pope who continually attacks his fellow Catholics, both priests and laymen, for being too "rigid", i.e. traditional?