Pope Francis greets journalists aboard the flight from Tel Aviv to Rome May 26. At right is Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican press spokesman. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Posted on 05/28/2014 11:49:45 AM PDT by NYer
Vatican City, 27 May 2014 (VIS) – At the end of his trip, during the flight from Tel Aviv to Rome, Pope Francis spoke for over 40 minutes with the journalists who accompanied him on the flight, answering their questions on various issues linked not only to his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but also in relation to the abuse of minors, remarried divorcees, his upcoming trips, priestly celibacy, and so on. Below is a summary of some of the Pope's answers.
The Holy Land and the prayer meeting in the Vatican with Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas.
The most authentic gestures are those that we don't think about, those that come to us, aren't they? I thought about suggesting it during the trip, but there were many logistical problems, because each one has to consider the territory, and it's not easy. So I thought about a meeting, and at the end, I came up with this invitation. It will be an encounter to pray, not for the purposes of mediation. We will pray with the two presidents; prayer is important, it helps. Afterwards, each person will return home. There would be a rabbi, a Muslim, and myself.
Abuse of minors
At the moment there are three bishops under investigations: one has already been found guilty and we are now considering the penalty to be imposed. There are no privileges. … A priest who does this betrays the Body of the Lord, because this priest must lead this child, this boy, this girl, to sanctity, and this boy or girl trusts in him; and instead of leading them to sanctity he abuses them. This is very serious. It is like, by way of comparison, holding a black Mass. You are supposed to lead them to sanctity and instead you lead them to a problem that will last their entire lives. In a few days' time there will be a Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae with some survivors of abuse, and then a meeting with them. … But we must move forward on this issue, with zero tolerance!
Contradiction between the poor and austere Church and the financial scandals within
The Gospel tells us that Lord Jesus once said to His disciples that it is inevitable that there will be scandals, because we are human and we are sinners. And there will be scandals. The key is trying to avoid that there are more of them! Economic administration calls for honesty and transparency. The two Commissions, the one which has studied the IOR and the Commission that has studied the Vatican as whole, have reached their conclusions, and now the ministry, the Secretariat for the economy directed by Cardinal Pell, will carry out the reforms that the two Commissions have advised. … For instance, in the IOR I think that around 1,600 accounts have been closed, belonging to people who were not entitled to hold an account at the IOR. The IOR exists to help the Church, and accounts can be held by bishops, Vatican employees, and their widows or widowers, to draw their pensions. … But other private individuals are not entitled to accounts. It is not open to all.
European elections
There is a key word: unemployment. This is a serious matter. It is serious because I look at it this way, simplifying somewhat. We are in a global economic system which places money at its centre, not the human person. A true economic system should revolve around men and women, the human person. This economic system we have today places money at the centre and to maintain its equilibrium, it has to carry out various “waste” measures. Children are discarded, as the low birth rates in Europe show, and the elderly are abandoned.
Stable and lasting peace in Jerusalem
The Catholic Church has established its position from a religious point of view: it will be the city of peace for the three religions. The concrete measures for peace must come from negotiations. I agree that from the negotiations perhaps it will emerge that it will be the capital of one State or another, it would be madness on my part. But these are hypotheses, and I do not consider myself competent to say that we should do one thing or another. I believe that it is necessary to negotiate with honesty, fraternity and great trust in the path of negotiation. It takes courage to do this, and I pray that these two leaders, these two governments will have the courage to take this path. It is the only route to peace.
Priestly celibacy
The Catholic Church has married priests – Greek Catholics, Coptic Catholics, those of oriental rites. Celibacy is not a question of dogma, but rather a rule of life that I greatly appreciate, as I believe it is a gift for the Church. But, since it is not a dogma of faith, the door is always open.
Relations with the Orthodox Churches
Patriarch Bartholomew and I spoke about the unity we create as we walk together. Unity cannot be created in a congress on theology. He confirmed that Athenagoras said to Paul VI: “We go ahead together, calmly, and put all the theologians together on an island where they can discuss among themselves, and we walk ahead in life!”. There are many things we can do to help each other. For instance, with the Churches. In Rome, as in many cities, many Orthodox go to Catholic churches. Another thing we mentioned, that may be considered in the pan-orthodox Council, is the date of Easter, because it is somewhat ridiculous to say, “When is your Christ resurrected? Mine was resurrected last week”. Yes, the date of Easter is a sign of unity. … We also spoke a lot on the problems of ecology, and the need to work together on this issue.
Forthcoming trips and the problems faced by Christians in Asia
With regard to Asia, two trips are planned: the one to South Korea, for the meeting of young Asians, and then, next January, a two-day trip to Sri Lanka and then on to the Philippines, to the area affected by the typhoon. The problem of the lack of freedom of worship affects not only certain Asian countries, but also other countries in the world. Religious freedom is something that not all countries have. Some have a certain level of control … others adopt measures that lead to a real persecution of believers. There are martyrs! There are martyrs in our times, Christian martyrs, both Catholic and non-Catholic. There are places where it is forbidden to wear a crucifix or to possess a Bible; where it is forbidden to teach the catechism to children.
Abdication from the pontificate in the case of failing strength and the issue of Popes emeritus
I will do what the Lord tells me to do: pray, and seek God's will. But I think that Benedict XVI is not a unique case. It happened because he no longer had the strength and in an honest way – he is a man of faith, and humble – he took this decision. Seventy years ago bishops emeritus barely existed, whereas now there are many. What will happen to Popes emeritus? I think that we must look to him as an institution. He has opened a door, the door of Popes emeritus. Will there be others? Only God knows. But this door is open, and I think that a bishop of Rome, a Pope who feels that his strength is declining – because we live much longer now – must ask himself the same questions that Pope Benedict faced.
Beatification of Pius XII
The cause for Pius XII is open. However, there has been no miracle, and if there are no miracles it is not yet possible to go ahead.
Synod on the family and remarried divorcees
The Synod in October will be on the family and the problems it faces; its riches and its current situation. I do not like the fact that many people, even within the Church, have said that it will be the Synod about remarried divorcees, as if it could simply be reduced to a case study: can they receive communion or not? The issue is much broader. Today, as we all know, the family is in crisis, and it is a global crisis. Young people no longer want to get married, or prefer simply to live together; marriage is in crisis, and therefore the family is too. The problem of family pastoral care is very broad. Pope Benedict said something about the family three times: it is necessary to study the faith with which a person approaches marriage and clarify that divorcees are not excommunicated, and very often they are treated as if they are.
Reform of the Roman Curia
The council of eight cardinals is studying the constitution “Pastor bonus” and the Roman Curia. It has consulted many people and with the Curia and is still studying certain issues, such as bringing together various dicasteries to streamline organisation. One of the key points is the economy, and it is therefore necessary to work in collaboration with the secretary of State. … The obstacles are those one encounters in any process of this type. Planning the approach, the work of persuasion is very important. There are some people who do not see this clearly, but any reform involves these things. But I am content, in truth.
Summary, ping!
While not a fan of Pope Francis and have vehemently disagreed with many of his comments on economic policy, I am glad he seems to be open and flexible regarding the Church’s policy of mandatory clerical celibacy, which seems to apply to some, but not others.
Place Mark
I held my breath to begin the read of this summary. I exhaled, grateful there was no apparent need for a myriad translation, or a jillion interpretations. (Apparent to me at least.)
To onyx’s point, yes, it is going to be hard to see the enemy of the sacred planting his shoes on sacred ground in the Vatican.
Dear Holy Father has been a real contradiction speaking on political things outside of faith and morals leaving confusion for me.
But then I think of Jesus Christ, and how He was a contradiction to people in the time of Jesus, who didn’t understand, or outright rejected what He was saying, teaching and reflecting.
I very much want to be on the right side of God concerning, “persona Christie”, of our earthly Shepherd.
The Holy Spirit has never let us down in all of history, so, I must lean on Him and trust Him to do His work in the Vatican, and in me.
But, regarding this summary so far, it seemed to represent a better rhetorical showing for Pope Francis, in that no real bombshells were dropped in this outing. I was relieved.
As do I every time.
Ditto, here. I love and pray for the Holy Father... but I also privately hope and pray that he never gets close to a microphone (aside from a liturgy at the Vatican, with a prescribed script), ever again!
I know. %:/
Amen!
You put everything in such a proper perspective for me.
Thank you so much, dearest, sweet RitaOK.
God bless and keep you.
Wait, so here was an opportunity to reiterate Church teaching and say "No, remarried divorcees can not receive communion" and he says, "This issue is much broader".
Gotcha.
For those of you who are "relieved" by his comments, you might re-think that.
Onyx, you are a legend here for your instincts, your joy, for the sprit of your huge heart, to ever be at odds with a “proper perspective”. We are all on a rocky journey in these times, in the midst of so much personal loss, broad political and cultural loss and it is painfully humbling for all of us. Which,... I guess is the Point, isn’t it? Humbled until we break the spirit of this world, in us— better prepared to receive our Lord Jesus and BE received quickly.
Lord, Hear our prayers.
You’re truly amazing in my view. I’m so fortunate and blessed to have you as my close friend. God bless and keep you, dearest, beautiful, RitaOK.
To hear such a thing from you is a heart quickening consolation for me and I am grateful. Thank you, onyx.
The Church is just being rocked from pillar to post, from within and without, and we are so little apart from one another, but together we *are* the Church, nearly at the Red Sea it seems, and our charge is to hold on to the Pillar the Church until He comes, and shows us His mighty arm, rips out by the roots any and all evil befalling us and sets us in a high place.
Trust and humility will surely see its Reward. “Where else shall we go?”, Peter asked.
Let’s stick, you and me, with Peter, in the Seat of Moses :D Love, Rita
As noted, it is only mandatory in the Latin Church. Just curious to know why you feel this way.
Subscribing to pessimism seems to be the purview of traditionalist catholics. Attending traditionalist masses also excludes participants from the reality of life around them. Like you, I support traditional marriage and believe that communion should be denied those remarried without a church annulment. Looking at the "real world" around me, however, indicates that many catholics follow a more secularist lifestyle and are either ignorant of or dismiss church teachings. Let me cite an example from the small townhouse community where I reside.
We have several young 'families' on the block. One is a twice divorced (catholic) mother of two children (the youngest is 7) from different fathers. She has moved a new boyfriend into the 'nest'. Another 'family' consists of a divorced (catholic) dad, his 5 year old son (who attends catholic school) and his fiancee. Yet another is a blended (catholic) family of grandparents, children and grandchildren. These children all play together and often talk to me when I walk the dog. As young as they are, they all know the 'cast of characters' in each other's lives, right down to the proper terminology. None of them has ever experienced life in a traditional family. For them, this lifestyle is normal.
Pope Francis' commented: "The problem of family pastoral care is very broad." Judging from what I see around me, I totally concur. These families rarely attend mass yet consider themselves catholic. The pope and the synod must discuss the "reality" of contemporary society and the relativism that has contributed to it. This is not a cut and dry issue with a quick fix statement. Most catholic pastors are confronted with these blended catholic families and look to the Holy See for some guidelines on how to deal with these "real world" issues.
The catholics who attend the TLM, are those who understand and choose to practice the tenets of their faith. It is commensurate on them and us to pray for their brothers and sisters in the faith, who have lost their way. More importantly, your prayers are needed for the pope and the upcoming synod.
**Abuse of minors**
No surprise that they saw this got at the top of the list.
“For those of you who are “relieved” by his comments, you might re-think that”.
Three times he referenced Benedict when speaking of marriage. If anything at all changes on marriage it will be something to do with annulments. And they ain’t going away.
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