Pope: in flight presser after Sweden visit
(Vatican
Radio) During his in-flight press conference following his visit to Sweden,
Pope Francis spoke on Tuesday about a range of topics including welcoming
refugees, female priests, relations with the charismatic movements, his talks
with Venezuela’s President, secularisation, his upcoming journeys abroad and
human trafficking.
In
his traditional press conference with journalists travelling with him on the
plane back to Rome, Pope Francis was asked first what is his message to those
European countries who fear the arrival of refugees and for Sweden,
traditionally a country that has been more welcoming to refugees and migrants
than many others, but which of late, has started to close its borders.
Stressing that we cannot close our hearts to refugees, in his reply the Pope
praised Sweden’s example of hospitality towards refugees. At the same time he
said it was very important for any country accepting refugees or migrants to
make sure that they also take steps to ensure they are properly integrated into
their host nations, saying this is a process that takes time. He went on to
warn that a country can pay a political price if they take in more refugees
than they can integrate properly. In this context, he warned against the formation
of ghettos for refugee or migrant communities, saying this was a “dangerous”
development that should be avoided.
Asked
next how realistic it would be to foresee women priests in the Catholic Church
in the coming decades, and if not, why not, Pope Francis said “the last word on
this issue was clear” and had been given by Saint John Paul II and “this
stands.” At the same time, he stressed that the Church itself is feminine and
Mary is more important than the Apostles in terms of the theology and mysticism
of the Church on the day of the Pentecost. The Church, he explained, has its
Petrine dimension and its Marian dimension and said it could not exist with
this female dimension.
Turning
next to the Church’s relations with the Charismatic Renewal movement and
Evangelical Christians, the Pope was asked for his thoughts ahead of a major
event in Rome in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the
former. In his reply he spoke about initiatives taken by him to strengthen and
improve relations with the Charismatic Church and the Waldensian Church, both
as Pope and when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The Pope also revealed that
whereas at first he forbade the Jesuits in Argentina to have anything to do
with the Charismatic gatherings, he now believed “the opposite” as long as they
were “done well.”
The
request for the Vatican to mediate in the crisis in Venezuela between President
Nicholas Maduro and the opposition was another question put to the Pope who
confirmed in his reply that the Holy See had been asked to mediate in the
ongoing dispute in that country and stressed that dialogue is the only way out
of this crisis.
Asked
next about the phenomenon of secularisation, especially in France and whether
it is inevitable, Pope Francis said he believed that this arises when the faith
becomes lukewarm and noted that secularisation is very strong in many cultures.
He also warned about the effects of spiritual worldliness, saying when it
enters into the Church this is “the worst thing” that can happen to it.
The
final question put to the Pope was about the scourge of human trafficking which
was the subject of a recent conference held by the Santa Marta Group in the
Vatican. In his reply, Pope Francis spoke about how moved he was when he saw at
first hand the suffering of those who were the victims of human trafficking
whilst he was living in Buenos Aires but also praised the work done by many
volunteer groups in Italy to combat this scourge. Speaking about his plans for
overseas journeys next year, the Pope said that it was “almost certain” he
would be going to India and Bangladesh but there were no firm plans yet.
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