From Catholic News Agency:
“Here’s what Pope Francis said
in his ‘60 Minutes’ interview”
In his first in-depth interview
with a U.S. broadcast network, Pope Francis addressed a wide range of topics,
including the war in Ukraine, antisemitism, and U.S. immigration policy. A portion of the full interview, which will
air Monday evening on CBS, aired Sunday evening on the network’s flagship
magazine program, “60 Minutes.” In the segment, the pope answered questions
from “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell through a translator. CNA
translated Pope Francis’ answers below from the original Spanish.
On the threat of famine in
Gaza ahead of World Children’s Day: “[The
threat is] not just in Gaza. Think of Ukraine. Many kids from Ukraine come
here. You know something? That those children don’t know how to smile? I’ll say
something to them [mimics smile]… They have forgotten how to smile. And that is
very painful.”
On wars in Ukraine and
elsewhere: “Please, warring countries, all of them, stop. Stop the war.
Seek to negotiate. Strive for peace. A negotiated peace is always better than
an endless war.”
On growing antisemitism in the
U.S. amid the Israel-Hamas war: “All ideology is bad. And antisemitism is
an ideology, and it is bad. Any ‘anti’ is always bad. You can criticize one
government or the other, the government of Israel, the Palestinian government.
You can criticize all you want, but not ‘anti’ a people. Neither
anti-Palestinian nor antisemitic. No. … I pray a lot for peace. And also
suggest, ‘Please, stop. Negotiate.’”
On immigration: “Migration is something that makes a
country grow. [To O’Donnell:] They say that you Irish migrated and brought the
whiskey, and that the Italians migrated and brought the mafia… [laugh] It’s a
joke. Don’t take it badly. But, migrants sometimes suffer a lot. They suffer a
lot.”
On Texas state effort to
revoke registration of migrant-serving Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas: “That is madness. Sheer madness. To close
the border and leave them there, that is madness. The migrant has to be
received. Then you see how you are going to deal with him. Maybe you have to
send him back, I don’t know, but each case ought to be considered humanely.”
On the “globalization of
indifference”: “Do you want me to state it plainly? People wash their
hands! There are so many Pontius Pilates on the loose out there… who see what
is happening, the wars, the injustice, the crimes… ‘That’s OK, that’s OK’ and
wash their hands. It’s indifference. That is what happens when the heart
hardens… and becomes indifferent. Please, we have to get our hearts to feel
again. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of such dramas of humanity. The
globalization of indifference is a very ugly disease. Very ugly.”
On sexual abuse cases in the
Church: “[The Church] must continue working. Unfortunately, the tragedy of
the abuses is enormous. And against this, an upright conscience and not only to
not permit it but to put in place the conditions so that it does not happen. …
It cannot be tolerated. When there is a case of a consecrated man or woman who
abuses, the full force of the law falls upon them. In this there has been a
great deal of progress.”
On the Vatican’s controversial
Fiducia Supplicans document allowing for limited pastoral blessings of same-sex
couples: “What I allowed was not to
bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not a sacrament. I cannot.
The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for
everyone. For everyone. To bless a homosexual-type union, however, goes against
the law; the natural law, the law of the Church. But to bless each person, why
not? The blessing is for all. Some people were scandalized by this. But why?
For everyone! Everyone!”
When asked about criticisms
from “conservative” bishops in the United States: “You use the adjective
‘conservatives.’ That is to say, a conservative is one who sticks to something
and does not want to see anything else. It is a suicidal attitude. Because one
thing is to take tradition into account, to take into account situations from
the past, but another is to be closed inside a dogmatic box.”
On gestational surrogacy,
which is forbidden by the Catholic Church: “In regard to surrogate motherhood, in the
strictest technical sense of the term, no, it cannot happen. Sometimes
surrogacy has become a business, and that is very bad. It is very bad. ... The
other hope is adoption. I would say that in each case the situation should be
clearly considered, considered medically and then morally. I believe in these
cases there is a general rule, but you have to go into each case in particular
to assess the situation, as long as the moral principle is not skirted.”
On giving hope to others as
the pope: “You have to be open to everything. The
Church is like that: Everyone, everyone, everyone. ‘That so-and-so is a
sinner…?’ Me too, I am a sinner. Everyone! The Gospel is for everyone. If the
Church places a customs officer at the door, that is no longer the church of
Christ. Everyone.”
When asked what gives him
hope: “Everything. You see
tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things. You see heroic mothers,
heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future. That
gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead. And people are
fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues
and sinners, but the heart is good.”
^ I watched Norah O’Donnell’s
Interview with Pope Francis last night and it was really well done.
Pope Francis didn’t shy away from
answering any of the questions.
I continue to be impressed by Pope
Francis (and even though I am a Catholic I don’t just say that since I was not
impressed at all with Pope Benedict XVI and was glad when he resigned.)
Pope Francis not only says the
right things, but he also shows that through his actions (he “practices what he
preaches.”)
Not all Religious Leaders (Catholic,
Russian Orthodox, Muslim, Protestant, Jewish, etc.) do.
Some preach hate. Some preach
that violence (murdering Ukrainian Civilians or Jewish Civilians) is good, etc.
Whether you are a Practicing
Catholic, a Lapsed Catholic or not even a Catholic Pope Francis shows you how
we all should think and do. ^
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