Pope Francis in New Interview Laments War - Explains Fiducia supplicans Blessings “people are blessed, not sin” - Discusses Resignation and More...
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In an interview on an Italian TV program, Pope Francis speaks to “Che tempo che fa”, which aired on Sunday, January. 14th. Pope Francis laments the risk of escalation in war, says he has no plans to resign, announces Apostolic Journeys to Polynesia and to Argentina, and reflects on ‘Fiducia supplicans’, saying “the Lord blesses everyone, everyone, everyone.”
The 87-year-old pope was interviewed by Fabio Fazio, the program's host, and when asked about a possible resignation he revealed, "as long as I feel I still have the capacity to serve, I will go on." "When I can no longer do it, it will be time to think about it." "It is neither a thought nor a concern nor even a desire,” he said. “It is a possibility, open to all Popes, but for the moment it is not at the center of my thoughts and concerns, my feelings.”
The Pope responded to a question about the document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fiducia supplicans, which opens the possibility of blessing couples in "irregular" situations, including same-sex couples, and which has caused some controversy.
Sources: Vatican News - and USCCB CatholicNewsService
The pope explained that the Church’s doctrine on the Sacrament of Marriage as being for a man and a woman has not changed and he clarified that “people are blessed, not sin.”
Blessings for all, even to "irregular" couples, just as God "blesses everyone, everyone, everyone"; his "fear" of military escalation and the crime of war that has stolen the smile from children; confirmation that he has no intention of resigning, and the announcement of two trips: to Polynesia in August, and to his native Argentina by the end of the year.
He reaffirmed that "the Lord blesses everyone, everyone, everyone.”
“We must take these people by the hand,” said the Pope, “not condemn them from the start.”
This is "the pastoral work of the Church,” he noted, calling it an "important" task for confessors, who are called to "forgive everything."
"Sin deserves punishment," the pope said. But he said he believes the "literary expression" in the classic version of the prayer "is too harsh given God's love. I prefer to say, 'Because by sinning I have saddened your heart.'"
"In my 54 years of priesthood -- I've been a priest 54 years; I'm old," he said. "This is a confession. In these 54 years, I've only denied forgiveness (absolution) once because of the person's hypocrisy. Just once. I've always forgiven everything even when I knew the person could fall again, but the Lord forgives us. He helps us not to fall or to fall less, but he always forgives."
Blessings for all, even to "irregular" couples, just as God "blesses everyone, everyone, everyone"; his "fear" of military escalation and the crime of war that has stolen the smile from children; confirmation that he has no intention of resigning, and the announcement of two trips: to Polynesia in August, and to his native Argentina by the end of the year.
He reaffirmed that "the Lord blesses everyone, everyone, everyone.”
“We must take these people by the hand,” said the Pope, “not condemn them from the start.”
This is "the pastoral work of the Church,” he noted, calling it an "important" task for confessors, who are called to "forgive everything."
"Sin deserves punishment," the pope said. But he said he believes the "literary expression" in the classic version of the prayer "is too harsh given God's love. I prefer to say, 'Because by sinning I have saddened your heart.'"
"In my 54 years of priesthood -- I've been a priest 54 years; I'm old," he said. "This is a confession. In these 54 years, I've only denied forgiveness (absolution) once because of the person's hypocrisy. Just once. I've always forgiven everything even when I knew the person could fall again, but the Lord forgives us. He helps us not to fall or to fall less, but he always forgives."
The interviewer asked the pope how he imagines hell:
"It's difficult to imagine it," the pope said. "What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is."
(Note the Catechism states" 1821 We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved."...)
As he often has in these months of conflict in the Middle East and these years of war in Ukraine, the Pope repeated his condemnation of the horror of war.
"It's true that making peace is risky, but war is riskier," he said.
The Pope also spoke about a meeting he had last Wednesday with a delegation of children from Ukraine. “None of them were smiling,” he said. “Children spontaneously smile; I gave them chocolates, and they did not smile. They had forgotten how to smile, and for a child to forget how to smile is criminal. This is what war does: it prevents dreaming.”
"Behind the wars," insisted the Bishop of Rome, "there is the arms trade."
He also shared his fear of the conflict's expansion: "This military escalation scares me, because this advancing of military steps in the world makes one wonder how we will end up. With atomic weapons now, which destroy everything. How will we end up. Like Noah's Ark? This frightens me: the capacity for self-destruction that humanity has today.”
In the interview, Pope Francis also addressed the issue of migrants, recalling his embrace with Pato, a young Cameroonian man who lost his wife and daughter in the desert between Tunisia and Libya. The Pope received him in November at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta.
"There is so much cruelty in dealing with these migrants from the time they leave their homes until they arrive here in Europe," he said. “Everyone has the right to stay in their own home or to migrate."
The Pope called for a "well-thought-out" migration policy that helps "take the problem of migrants in hand" and "eliminate all these mafias that exploit migrants."
The Pope then announced two trips that should take place in the course of this year: one in August to an unspecified country or countries in Polynesia, and one to his native Argentina, near the end of the year.
"It is a difficult time for the country,” said Pope Francis. “There is a possibility of making a trip in the second part of the year, because now there is a change of government; there are new things... I want to go there. Ten years is fine; it is okay, I can go."
"It's difficult to imagine it," the pope said. "What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is."
(Note the Catechism states" 1821 We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved."...)
As he often has in these months of conflict in the Middle East and these years of war in Ukraine, the Pope repeated his condemnation of the horror of war.
"It's true that making peace is risky, but war is riskier," he said.
The Pope also spoke about a meeting he had last Wednesday with a delegation of children from Ukraine. “None of them were smiling,” he said. “Children spontaneously smile; I gave them chocolates, and they did not smile. They had forgotten how to smile, and for a child to forget how to smile is criminal. This is what war does: it prevents dreaming.”
"Behind the wars," insisted the Bishop of Rome, "there is the arms trade."
He also shared his fear of the conflict's expansion: "This military escalation scares me, because this advancing of military steps in the world makes one wonder how we will end up. With atomic weapons now, which destroy everything. How will we end up. Like Noah's Ark? This frightens me: the capacity for self-destruction that humanity has today.”
In the interview, Pope Francis also addressed the issue of migrants, recalling his embrace with Pato, a young Cameroonian man who lost his wife and daughter in the desert between Tunisia and Libya. The Pope received him in November at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta.
"There is so much cruelty in dealing with these migrants from the time they leave their homes until they arrive here in Europe," he said. “Everyone has the right to stay in their own home or to migrate."
The Pope called for a "well-thought-out" migration policy that helps "take the problem of migrants in hand" and "eliminate all these mafias that exploit migrants."
The Pope then announced two trips that should take place in the course of this year: one in August to an unspecified country or countries in Polynesia, and one to his native Argentina, near the end of the year.
"It is a difficult time for the country,” said Pope Francis. “There is a possibility of making a trip in the second part of the year, because now there is a change of government; there are new things... I want to go there. Ten years is fine; it is okay, I can go."
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