Pope Francis to Die Zeit: 'I too have moments of
emptiness'
(Vatican Radio) “I too know moments of emptiness.” In an
interview for German newsweekly Die Zeit, Pope Francis spoke about the
“spiritual dark moments” in his own life, times when he has said, “Lord, I
don’t understand this.”
Asked about how the faithful can help when people experience
crises of faith, the Holy Father said, “One cannot grow without crises: in
human life, the same thing happens. Even biological growth is a crisis, no? The
crisis of a child who becomes an adult. And faith is the same.”
Pope Francis’ admission of his own doubts was perhaps the
most striking moment in the interview with Die Ziet’s editor-in-chief, Giovanni
di Lorenzo. “Faith is a gift,” the Pope said when asked how one returns to the
faith. One cannot recover one’s faith on one’s own, but must ask it from God:
“I ask, and He responds. Sooner or later, eh? But at times, you have to wait,
in a crisis.”
The conversation covered a wide range of topics, from the
Pope’s devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots; to the vocations crisis (“optional
celibacy is not the solution); to the question of whether men are intrinsically
good or evil.
The Pontiff spoke once again about what he has called the
“Third World War,” being waged piecemeal, drawing attention to ongoing
conflicts in Africa, Ukraine, Asia, Iraq, and elsewhere. He spoke, too, about
contemporary currents of populism, warning against “a messianism” that always
lurks behind such phenomena.
Current events in the Church, including criticisms of Pope
Francis, were also touched on in the interview. “I will make a confession about
this, a sincere one,” he said. “From the moment I was elected Pope I have never
lost my peace. I understand that someone might not like [my] way of acting, and
I even justify it: there are so many ways of thinking; it is licit, it is
human, and it is even a richness.” In particular, he complimented the
“cultured” Roman dialect used in notorious posters that appeared in Rome,
accusing the Pope of not being merciful.
“It’s good that you can laugh at these things,” his
interviewer said, to which Pope Francis responded, “But of course! [It’s] one
of the things I pray for each day, with the prayer of St Thomas More: I ask for
a sense of humour.”
The conversation ended with a discussion of possible future
travels, with the Holy Father confirming his plans to visit India, Bangladesh
and Colombia, as well as Fatima in Portugal. He said, however, that a hoped-for
trip to South Sudan might not be possible after all.
Pope Francis concluded the interview with an apology: “I’m
sorry if I haven’t met your expectations… Pray for me!”
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