Pope Francis gives interview ahead of trip to Sweden
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis has called making war in the name of religion “satanic” and
a "blasphemy.”
His
words came in an interview with
the Jesuit Catholic journal La
Civiltà Cattolica ahead of his ecumenical Apostolic Trip to
Sweden. The interview was conducted by Father Ulf Jonsson S.J., the director of
the Swedish cultural journal of the Jesuits, Signum.
Pope
Francis mentioned the recent interreligious meeting for peace in Assisi, which
he called “very important.”
“All
of us talked of peace and we asked for peace,” – the Pope said – “ We together
said strong words for peace, what the religions truly want.”
When
asked about the suffering of the Christians in the Middle East, Pope Francis
called the region “a land of martyrs.”
“I
believe that the Lord does not leave his people on their own,” – the Holy
Father said – “He will not abandon them. When we read of the hard trials of the
people of Israel in the Bible or remember the trials of the martyrs, we see how
the Lord always comes to the aid of his people.”
The
purpose of the trip to Sweden is to mark the 500th anniversary of the beginning
of the Protestant Reformation, and much of the discussion in the interview
covered ecumenical affairs.
Speaking
about the mutual enrichment possible between Christian communities, the Pope
was asked what Catholics could learn from Lutherans.
“Two
words come to my mind: ‘reform’ and
‘Scripture’,” - Pope Francis said – “I will try to explain. The first is the
word 'reform'. At the beginning, Luther’s was a gesture of reform in a
difficult time for the Church. Luther wanted to remedy a complex situation.
Then this gesture —also because of the political
situations, we think also of the cuius
regio eius religio (whose realm , his religion) —became a ‘state’ of
separation, and not a process of reform of the whole Church, which is
fundamental, because the Church is semper reformanda (always
reforming).”
“The
second word is ‘Scripture’, the Word
of God,” – the Pope continued – “Luther took a great step by putting the
Word of God into the hands of the people. Reform and Scripture are two things
that we can deepen by looking at the Lutheran tradition. The General
Congregations before the Conclave comes to mind
and how the request for a reform was alive in our discussions.”
The
Holy Father was later asked about how the Ecumenical movement can move forward.
He responded by saying “theological dialogue must continue,” and pointing to
the Joint Declaration on Justification as an important point, but added “it
will not be easy to go forward because of the different ways of understanding
some theological questions.”
“Personally,
I believe that enthusiasm must shift towards common prayer and the works of
mercy -- work done together to help the sick, the poor, and the imprisoned,” –
Pope Francis said – “To do something together is a high and
effective form of dialogue. I also think about education. It
is important to work together and not in a sectarian way. There is a policy we
should have clear in every case: to proselytize in the ecclesial field is a
sin."
The
full text of the interview can be found on the website of La Civiltà Cattolica here.
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