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Immediately after his election on 13 March 2013, Pope Francis told himself, “Jorge, do not change, continue being yourself, because to change at your age would be ridiculous.”
He revealed this interesting personal detail in a wide-ranging 50 minute, exclusive interview with Elisabetta Piquè, for La Nacion, the main Argentine newspaper, published today, December 7 (cf links below) She is the paper’s correspondent in Italy and author of “Francis: Life and Revolution” (Loyola Press), recognized as the most authoritative papal biography in any language to-date.
Asked why he thought some sectors in the Church feel disoriented and assert that today the Church is like a ship without a rudder, especially after the recent synod, Francis questioned whether people had really said this.
He suggested that part of the problem is that people don’t read what he has written: an encyclical together with Benedict XVI, homilies, declarations, and “The Joy of the Gospel”.
He recalled that at the end of the synod his concluding speech was enthusiastically received by the bishops, and “that indicated that the problem was not with the Pope”.
When it was put to him that some, especially after the synod, fear that the traditional doctrine of the Church will be demolished, Francis said “There are always fears, but because they don’t read the things (the texts), or (they) read news in a daily paper, an article.
“They do not read what the synod decided, what it published.”
He listed three things which he said are “the definitive” result of the synod: “The post-synod (final) report, the post-synod message, and the speech of the Pope”.
But even those become relative, because they will be “transformed into the guidelines” for the October 2015 synod.
Pope Francis pointed out that “nobody spoke about homosexual marriage in the synod, it didn’t occur to us. Continue reading
Sources
- Vatican Insider
- Image: Relevant
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News category: Features.
