Vatican City, 14 September 2015 (VIS) –
Pope Francis has recently granted two interviews: one to the
Portuguese broadcaster Radio Renascenca, on the occasion of the
Portuguese bishops' “ad Limina” visit, and the other to the
Argentine Radio Milenium, focusing on care for creation and the value
of friendship and dialogue.
In the first, in response to a question
regarding an eventual visit to Portugal to commemorate the centenary
of the apparitions of the Virgin at Fatima, Francis expresses his
wish to visit the country and adds that “the Virgin always asks us
to receive and care for the family and the commandments. She does not
ask for anything unusual. … And she appears to children. It is
curious, she always seeks the simplest souls”.
With regard to the phenomenon of
migration to Europe, he affirms, “it is the tip of an iceberg. We
see these refugees, these poor people, who flee from war, from
hunger. … But behind this there is the cause, and the cause is an
unfair socio-economic system”. He adds, “Speaking of the
ecological issue, within our socio-economic structure, within
politics, at the centre there must always be the person. And today's
dominant economic system has replaced the person at the centre with
the god of money, the idol”. Therefore, he says, it is necessary to
look to the root causes. “When the cause is hunger, create jobs and
invest. When the cause is war, seek peace, work for peace. Today the
world is at war; it is at war against itself”.
In this respect, the Pope reaffirms the
importance of acceptance. “Accepting people, and welcoming them as
they come”. With regard to his appeal to all parishes in Europe to
host a family of refugees, he specified, “When I talk about a
parish welcoming a family, I do not mean that they should go and live
in the parish house, but rather that the parish community seek a
place, a corner where they can make a little apartment or, if there
is no other option, rent a modest apartment for this family; that
they should have a roof over their heads, they should be welcomed,
and that they should be included within the community”.
He also considers the theme of the
culture of well-being, commenting that the birthrate is very low in
many countries such as Italy, Portugal and Spain. “When there is an
empty space, people seek to fill it. If a country has no children,
migrants come to occupy that space. … Not wanting children is, in
part – and this is my interpretation, I don't know if it is correct
– it is linked to the culture of comfort, isn't it? And then the
elderly are left alone. I think that the great challenge facing
Europe is to become once again Mother Europe, rather than Grandmother
Europe. … It must be recognised that Europe has an exceptional
culture – centuries of culture – and must regain her capacity for
leadership in the concert of nations. Or rather, she must become once
again the Europe who shows the way, as she has the culture to do so.
… Europe must assume her role once again, as she has the culture to
do so, to recover her identity. It is true that Europe has made
mistakes. I do not reproach, I merely recall this. When she has
wanted to speak about her identity, she has avoided recognising what
is probably the deepest part of it: her Christian roots. We all make
mistakes in life, but for Europe it is not too late to change”.
The Pope also emphasises that the
Church must be outbound and must be willing to take risks. “If a
church, a parish, a diocese, an institute, lives closed up in itself,
it comes to a halt. It is the same thing that happens to a closed up
home. We end up with an unhealthy Church, with fixed rules, without
creativity, 'insured' but not safe. Instead, if a church or a parish
goes out and evangelises, the same thing happens that can occur to
any person who goes out into the street – accidents can befall
them. So, between a sickly Church or an accident-prone one, I would
prefer an accident-prone Church as at least she reaches out”.
With reference to his expectations of
the Jubilee of Mercy, he expresses his hope that “everyone will
come. May they come and experience God's love and forgiveness”, and
with regard to the letter to Archbishop Fisichella in which he
requests forgiveness during the Jubilee for the most difficult cases
and to his two Motu Proprios on the reform of processes for declaring
nullity of marriage, he explains that his intention is “to simplify
… to facilitate faith among the people … to enable the Church to
be a mother”.
In the interview granted to Milenium,
Francis says that “we are mistreating creation; at times we treat
it as if it were our worst enemy”, and “we live in a system that,
to earn money, has displaced man from the centre and put money in his
place, leading to the existence of “corrupt systems, with slavery,
forced labour and disregard for creation”.
In relation to fundamentalism “as its
followers are faithful to an idea but not to a reality”, Francis
warns of the danger represented by this “darkness that obscures our
horizon” and causes us to become closed up in our own convictions
and 'ideologies'. “It is a wall that prevents encounter with
others”.
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