Pope Francis gave a historic – hourly – interview last night on Italian public television RAI.
Speaking to presenter Fabio Faccio and the online show “Che Tempo che fa” from the Vatican, the Pope referred to a number of issues related to religious and social reality, but also to his life before and after his ordination. Francis opposed the “culture of indifference” and the division of people into different categories.
“The poor, the immigrants, the children do not count, they are certainly not a priority,” the pope said. “If the sale of weapons around the world stopped for a year, we could feed the hungry, send children from all over the school to school,” he insisted. Francis stressed that “war is in stark contrast to the creative work of the Lord, it is always destructive.”
Regarding immigration, he said that “every European country must say how many migrants and refugees it can receive and reach a comprehensive agreement, with the participation of the entire European Union”. “We have to welcome the immigrant, accompany him and integrate him into society. He should never be ghettoized,” said the Argentine pope. “The only antidote to indifference,” he noted, “is to feel and touch the pain of another, as the good Samaritan did.” As did the doctors who treated the patients of the new coronavirus pandemic. “And when we give money to someone in need, we have to touch their hand and look them in the eye,” the pope told presenter Fabio Faccio.
Francis asked viewers to show sensitivity and sincere care for the creation. He also confirmed that he likes classical music and tango, which he danced when he was young. “Anyone who does not dance tango is not a real resident of Buenos Aires,” he explained. The Pope expressed his concern about the increase in suicides of young people, but also the aggression that “bowling” breeds against children and adolescents. He called on the faithful to say “no” to vicious comments and gossip, which “destroy the very human entity.”
Addressing the parents, Francis urged them to play with their children, to be close to them and when they are wrong, “to have a great intimacy with their children, to grow -almost- with them”. The pope condemned the harassment of women, saying “there are women who are forced to pay with their bodies to maintain their jobs under the watchful eye of their managers.” “Everyone has the right to be forgiven for their mistakes, it is a right that God has given to people,” said the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
When asked how he copes with the pain of innocent creatures, Francis replied spontaneously: “I have deep faith, but I can not find an answer to the question` why do children suffer? `”. He added: “There is only one way: to suffer with them. What Dostoevsky wrote is also important.”
For the “Church of the Future”, the pope underlined that “he would like the Church to walk as a pilgrim”, while for him the great danger for the Church “is the religious secularism”. “What does it mean to pray?”
Francis said that “like all people, he has friends and that is one of the reasons why he decided to stay in the ecclesiastical hostel in Santa Marta, in the Vatican, and not in the papal’s apartment.”
The pope revealed that when he was young he wanted to become a butcher, “because in the market he saw that he always had bags full of money”. In adolescence he loved chemistry and medicine, but “then came the call of the Lord.”
The “pope of the poor” praised the people who manage to be witty, “because, in this way, the problems seem more manageable and one manages to discover joy in oneself”. “Pray for me. And those who do not pray, send me positive thoughts, positive waves,” Pope Francis urged everyone who attended the interview.
“Pray for me. And those of you who do not pray, send me positive thoughts, positive waves “, urged Pope Francis to all those who attended the interview.
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