Free Republic

ROME - A close adviser to Pope Francis criticized legislation proposed by Italy’s anti-migrant League party to require ports and other public institutions to display a crucifix, saying Wednesday that the religious symbol isn’t “a team emblem” to be shown for political ends.“If you remove the (religious) symbolism from the crucifix … it becomes a parody,” Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica, said during a Rome conference on the pope.A tweet Spardaro posted earlier in the day with a blunt “Hands off!” went viral. The crucifix, he wrote, “screams love to the enemy and unconditional welcome.”It...

Canadian Catholic journalist Lianne Laurence has written a profile offering new insight into the role that Fr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ — editor of the Italian Jesuit magazine, La Civiltà Cattolica — plays in divulging the mind of his close friend, Pope Francis. In a new interview at World Youth Day, Fr. Spadaro gives details on his relationship with Francis that help paint a picture of how attuned he is to the mind of the pope. The fortnightly journal is reviewed by the Vatican’s secretary of state before publication, and is seen as reflecting the “official” views of the Holy See....