On Monday evening (May 26) while en route between Tel Aviv and Rome, having completed his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with journalists who were on board the flight and granted them a press conference.
Press Conference granted by His Holiness, Pope Francis
to journalists en route from Tel Aviv to Rome
Father Lombardi:
Meanwhile, we thank the Pope very much for being here: after such an exhausting trip, he has made himself available to meet with us, so we are very grateful.
Now, we are all organized - you have organized yourselves, information agents - for each of the main linguistic groups, there are a few people who will ask questions. I have not placed any limits because I know that you want to work in many fields of interest, unless you want to say a few words of introduction first ... we will respond to your questions.
So, the first question comes from the Italian group:
Questioner:
Holy Father, over these past few days, you have made some gestures that have resounded around the world: your hand on the wall in Bethlehem, the sign of the cross, kisses for the survivors today at
Yad Vashem, but also the kiss at the Holy Sepulchre yesterday, together, simultaneously with Bartholomew, and so many others.
We want to ask you if you had previously thought about all these gestures, if you intended them: what were they intended to say, and secondly, in your opinion, what will be the impact of these gestures, that is other than the great invitation for Peres and Abu Mazen to visit the Vatican.
Holy Father:
Gestures, those that are the most authentic, are those that are not thought out ahead of time, those that happen spontaneously, no? I thought: if I can do something ...; but as for concrete gestures, none of them was thought of in this way. A few things, for example the invitation to the two Presidents to join me for a moment of prayer, I thought about this for a little while before extending it, but there were so many logistical problems, so many, because it was necessary to also consider the territory, where such an invitation was offered, and it isn't easy. For this reason, I thought of a meeting ... but in the end this invitation was issued, an invitation I hope that will do some good. But it wasn't thought about, and ... I don't know, I think about doing something but it's spontaneous, that's the way it is. At least, to tell the truth, anyone could say ...
but you, you can do something, but the concrete solutions don't always occur to me. For example, at
Yad Vashem, there was nothing, and then it all came to me. That's the way it is.
Father Lombardi:
Good. So, a second question from the English-language group.
Questioner:
You spoke with very difficult words against the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, by priests. You have created a special Commission to better respond to these problems at the level of the universal Church. In practical terms: we know that from now on, in all the local Churches there are norms that necessitate strong moral obligations and legal expenses involved in collaborating with local civil authorities, in one way or another. What will you do if there is a bishop who does not clearly honour or does not comply with these obligations?
Holy Father:
In Argentina, referring to the privileged, we might say:
This is daddy's boy. In this problem, we will not have daddy's boys. At this moment, there are three bishops under investigation: under investigation, three, and one of them has already been found guilty and they are still considering the penalty to be imposed. There are no privileges. Abuse of minors is such a terrible thing, so terrible ... We know that it is a serious problem for everyone, but I'm interested in the Church. A priest who does this, betrays the Body of Christ, because priests are supposed to care for children, this child, this young man, this young woman: and this young boy, this child confides him- or herself and instead of helping him or her to overcome his or her struggle, the priest abuses. This is a grave problem! It's like ... I'll make a comparison: it's like celebrating a Black Mass, for example. You should help to restore health, but instead you lead people into problems that last for the rest of their lives ... In the near future, there will be a Mass celebrated with some people who have suffered abuse, at Santa Marta, and then there will be a meeting with them: with me and with them, with Cardinal O'Malley who is part of the Commission. We must continue working on this question: zero tolerance.
Father Lombardi:
Thank you very much, Holiness. And so, now the group from Spain.
Questioner:
Ever since the first days of Your pontificate, You have been putting forward a strong message concerning a poor Church and a Church for the poor , poverty in simplicity, austerity. What do you plan to do so that there are no contradictions to this message of austerity? (The question was in reference to situations which have been spoken of in the recent past, including the operational costs of the IOR which are around 15 million euros).
Holy Father:
The Lord Jesus once said to his disciples - it's in the Gospel -
It is inevitable that there will be scandals. We are human beings, we are all sinners. And we will be, we always will be. The problem is to avoid future problems! In matters of economic administration, there should always be honesty and transparency. The two commissions, the one that is studying the IOR and the commission that has studied all the Vatican offices, have drawn their conclusions, have provided a plan and now, with the minister, we can say it this way, the Secretariat for the Economy directed by Cardinal Pell, we will go ahead with reforms that have been recommended by these two commissions. There are still inconsistencies, there always will be, because we are human, and reform must be a continual process. The Fathers of the Church used to say:
Ecclesia semper reformanda. We have to be on the lookout every day for necessary reforms in the Church because we are sinners, we are weak and there will always be problems. The administration that the Secretariat for the Economy is continuing will help us to avoid any further scandals or problems ... For example, in the IOR, I believe that up to this point there have been 1,600 accounts that have been closed, belonging to people who didn't have a right to have an account at the IOR. The IOR is meant to help the Church. Diocesan Bishops and Vatican employees can have accounts, and widows or widowers of Vatican employees can draw a pension ... something like that. But private companies shouldn't have accounts .... such as embassies, while there is an embassy, and nothing more. It is not an open affair. And this has been something good: closing the accounts that have no right to exist. I want to say one thing: the question that you have asked, you mentioned the affair of 15 million. This is something that is being studied, it's not clear. Perhaps it is true, but at this moment it is not definitive, this problem is being studied, we have to be fair. Thank you.
Father Lombardi:
So, now we give the floor to the French-language group.
Questioner:
Holy Father, after the Middle East, now we are returning to Europe. Are you concerned about the growth of the European population, a matter that was raised again yesterday in the European election?
Holy Father:
In recent days, I have had just enough time to pray the Our Father ... but I haven't heard anything about the election, truly. I haven't heard the latest, who won, who didn't win. I haven't received any news. In what sense are you referring to the population? Can you tell me?
Questioner:
In the sense that today, many Europeans are afraid, they think that there is no future for Europe. There is a lot of unemployment and the anti-European party has grown stronger during this election ...
Holy Father:
This is an argument that I have heard. About Europe, about trust or mistrust in Europe. Also about the Euro, a few want to turn back ... About these things, I don't understand too much. But you have used a key word: unemployment. This is a serious matter. It's serious because ... I interpret it this way, simplifying. We are in a world economic system which is focused on money, not on the human person. In a true economic system, the centre should be man and woman, the human person. And today, the focus is on money. In order to maintain itself, to equalize it, this system should be developed with some measure of
waste. If we cast our children aside - the birthrate in Europe isn't very high! I believe that Italy has a birthrate of about 1 or 2 percent; France, ou have about 2, a bit higher; Spain, less than Italy - I'm not even sure it's at 1 percent ... If we cast our children aside, if we cast our elderly aside because they are no longer useful, the elderly, it's cyclical: at this particular moment, you might find them because they are pensioned, they are in need, but it's a cyclical thing. The elderly are also cast aside in situations of euthanasia in so many countries. That is, drugs are administered up to a certain point, that's the way it is ... And now, we are neglecting our young people and this is really serious! In Italy, I believe that youth unemployment is almost 40 percent, I'm not sure; in Spain, I'm sure, it's 50 percent. And in Andalusia, in the South of Spain, it's 60! This means that there is an entire generation of
ni-ni: neither studying nor working, and this is very serious! It discards a generation of youth. For me, this throw-away culture is serious. But this is not only the case in Europe, it exists everywhere, but in Europe it is more pronounced. If you do the comparison, ten years ago, there was a culture of well-being. And this is tragic. This is a difficult moment. We have an inhuman economic system. I was not afraid to write in the Exhortation
Evangelii gaudium about how our economic system kills. And I repeat. I don't know if I managed to settle your anxiety just a bit or not. Thank you.
Father Lombardi:
So, now we hear from the Portuguese group.
Questioner:
I would like to ask you, Holiness, how you would solve the
Jerusalem question in order to establish stable peace, as you have said, and lasting peace? Thank you.
Holy Father:
There are so many proposals for the issue of Jerusalem. The Catholic Church, the Vatican, let's say, has its position from the religious point of view: it will be the City of peace between three religions. That's from the religious point of view. The concrete steps toward peace should come from negotiation. You have to negotiate. I will agree that negotiation might result in various sections: one would be the capital of one State or another ... but these are hypotheses. I am not saying:
it should be like this. No, these are hypotheses that must be negotiated. Really, I don't think I'm competent to say:
you should do this or this or this, because it would be a mess, on my part. But I believe that we need to enter with honesty and fraternity, mutual trust on the path of negotiation. And you negotiate everything: the entire territory, even relationships. It takes courage to do this, and I pray fervently to the Lord that these two leaders, these two governors have the courage to continue. This is the only path toward peace. I am only saying what the Church should say and has always said:
Jerusalem, which is kept as the focus of three religions, as a reference, as a city of peace - I'm also thinking of the word
sacred, but it's not the right word - it is a matter of peace and religion.
Father Lombardi:
Thank you, Holiness. Now let's call the representative of the German group.
Questioner:
Thank you, Holiness. During your pilgrimage, you spoke at length with and met a few times with Patriarch Bartholomew. We were wondering whether you spoke about concrete steps toward improving relations, and if you had a chance to speak about this. I also wonder whether the Catholic Church can learn something from the Orthodox Church - I'm thinking about married priests, a question that is of interest to many Catholics in Germany. Thank you.
Holy Father:
But the Catholic Church does have married priests, no? The Greek Catholics, the Coptic Catholics ... no? They exist, in the Oriental rites there are married priests because celibacy is not a dogma of faith, it is a rule of life that I appreciate a lot. I believe that it is a gift for the Church. Since it is not a dogma of faith, the door is always open: at this time, we have not spoken about this, as a programme, at least not for the moment. There are other more important matters that need to be attended to. I did not touch on this theme with Bartholomew because it really is secondary to our relations with the Orthodox. We spoke about unity: unity is created and strengthened along the path, unity is a journey. We can never establish unity in a meeting of theologians. And he told me that what I said is true, that Atenagora said to Paul VI:
We walk this path together, with calm, and all the theologians should gather on an island to discuss among themselves, while we continue the path toward life! It's true, I thought it was ... No, no it's true. Bartholomew told me so during our meetings. Walking the journey together, praying together, working together on so many things that we can do together, helping one another. For example, with the Church. In Rome, and in many cities, many Orthodox use Catholic churches at one time or another, as a step toward walking together. Another thing we spoke about, that might be an area that the Pan-Orthodox Council can address is the date of Easter, because it's a bit ridiculous:
Tell me when your Christ rose? Next week - mine rose last week ... Yes, the date of Easter is a sign of unity. And with Bartholomew, I spoke as a brother. We love one another, we share some of the difficulties of our leadership. And, another thing that we spoke about quite a bit was the problem of ecology: he is very worried, and I am too; we spoke for quite awhile about undertaking a joint project in this regard. Thank you.
Father Lombardi:
So, now, since we are not only Europeans or Americans and so on, but there are also some Asians among us, let's allow a question from the Asian group, since you are also preparing to travel to Asia.
Questioner:
Your next voyage will be to South Korea, and therefore I want to ask you about the Asian regions. In the countries bordering on South Korea there is neither religious freedom nor freedom of expression. What are you considering to help the people who are suffering in such situations?
Holy Father:
With respect to Asia, we are planning two trips: this one to South Korea, for the gathering of the Asian youth, and then, next January, a two-day trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, to the area that suffered most from the typhoon. The problem of lack of freedom to practice religion doesn't only exist in a few Asian countries: in a few of them, yes, but also in other countries throughout the world. Religious freedom is something that not every country enjoys. Some have a level of control that is more or less light, tranquil, others adopt measures that end up with true persecution of believers. These are martyrs! They are today's martyrs, Christian martyrs. Catholics and non-Catholics, but all of them martyrs. In some places you can't wear a crucifix or you can't have a bible. No one is allowed to teach catechism to children ... today! And I believe - and I think I'm not mistaken - that in our times, there are more martyrs than there were in the first years of the Church. We must be close to others, in some places prudently, in order to be able to help them; we must pray fervently for these Churches who are suffering: there is so much suffering. Even the Bishops, even the Holy See works with discretion at helping these countries, the Christians in these countries. But it isn't easy. For example, I will tell you something. In some countries, praying together is prohibited: prohibited. But Christians are there who want to celebrate the Eucharist! And there are some who are labourers, who are also priests. He goes there, to the table, he takes the tea, and celebrates the Eucharist. If the police arrive, they quickly hide the books and pretend to be drinking tea. This happens even today. It's not easy.
Father Lombardi:
... So, let's take another question from the Italians.
Questioner:
Holiness, during your pontificate, you face a great deal of commitment and you live it in a very serene way, as we have seen during these past days. If, one day, say one day in the distant future, should you feel that you no longer have the strength to exercise your ministry, do you think that you will make the same choice as your predecessor, to renounce the papacy?
Holy Father:
I will do what the Lord asks me to do. Pray, seek the will of God. But I think that Benedict XVI is not a unique case. It happened that he didn't have the strength and honestly - he is a man of faith, so humble - made that decision. I believe that he is an institution. Seventy years ago, there were almost no bishops-emeritus. And now, there are so many. What will happen with Popes-emeritus? I think that we should look at him as we look at an institution. He has opened a door, the door of the Popes-emeritus. Will there be others, or no? God knows. But the door is open: I believe that a Bishop of Rome, a Pope who feels that his strength is diminishing - because we live so long these days - should ask the same questions that Pope Benedict did.
Father Lombardi:
Now, let us return to the English-speaking group.
Questioner:
Holy Father, just today you met with a group of Holocaust survivors. Obviously, you are aware that one figure who is still suspected for his role during the Holocaust is your predecessor, Pope Pius XII. Before your pontificate, you wrote or said that you held Pope Pius XII in high esteem, but you wanted to examine the archives before drawing definitive conclusions. Now, we would like to know if you intend to go ahead with the cause (for sainthood) of Pius XII, or will you wait for some other turning point in the procedure before making a decision? Thank you.
Holy Father:
Thank you. The cause of Pius XII is open. I did some research: there is still no miracle, and if there are no miracles the process cannot be advanced. It stops there. We have to wait and see how the cause progresses, and then consider the best decision to be made. But the truth is: there are no miracles and at least one miracle is necessary for Beatification. This is where the cause of Pius XII is today, and I can't help thinking:
Will I name him Blessed or not?, because the process is slow. Thank you.
Father Lombardi:
So, now let us go to Argentina, another question from the Spanish group.
Questioner:
You have become a spiritual leader, and a political leader, and there are many expectations being placed upon you both from within the Church and from the international community. Within the Church, for example, what will happen with communion for those who are divorced and remarried, and in the international community, this mediation with which you surprised the world, for which there will be this meeting in the Vatican ... My question is do you not fear failure? Raising so many expectations, do you not fear that there may be some failure? Thank you.
Holy Father:
First, let me clarify something about this meeting in the Vatican: it will be a meeting of prayer, it will not be an occasion for mediation or for finding solutions, no. We will meet to pray, only to pray. Then, they will return home. But I think that prayer is important and praying together without any discussions of other kinds, this will help. Maybe I didn't explain myself well, at first, about how it will happen. It will be a meeting for prayer: there will be a rabbi present, and a Muslim, and I will be there. I have asked the Custos of the Holy Land to organize the practical details.
Second, and thank you for the question about the divorced. The Synod will focus on the family, on the problems facing families, on the wealth of families, on current situations facing the family. The preliminary exposition which was done by Cardinal Kasper had five major points of focus: four concerning the family, beautiful things about the family, a theological foundation, a few problems facing the family; and the fifth point: pastoral problems concerning separation, matrimonial nullity, the divorced ... Included in this problem is also the challenge of communion. And I am not happy that so many people - even priests of the Church - have said:
Ah, the Synod for giving communion to the divorced, that it has gone as far as that. I felt as though everything had been reduced to a soap opera. No, it is much bigger than that. Today, everyone knows, the family is in crisis: it is in trouble all over the world. Young people don't want to get married or they don't get married, or they live together. Matrimony is in crisis, and so is the family. I don't want us to fall into a soap opera: will it happen or not? This is why I thank you so much for this question, because it gives me an opportunity to clarify. the pastoral problems facing the family are many, very complicated, very complicated. We need to study them case by case. One thing that Pope Benedict said three times about divorce helps me a lot. Once, in Val d'Acosta, another time in Milan and a third time during the Consistory. The last public Consistory that he held for the creation of Cardinals, to study the procedure for nullity of matrimony; to study the faith with which a person approaches matrimony and to clarify the fact that those who are divorced are not excommunicated, even though they are often treated as though they were excommunicated. This is something serious. This case study of the problem, the Synod will focus on the family, the wealth of families and the problems of families. Solutions, nullity, all of that. And we will also have this problem, but all together. Now I want to tell you why there will be a Synod on the family: this was a very significant spiritual experience for me. During the second month of my pontificate, Monsignor Eterović - the Secretary of the Syond - came to me with the three themes that the Post-synodal Council proposed for the next Synod. The first was very strong: good:
the contribution of Jesus Christ to people today. This was the title. It is a continuation of the Synod on Evangelization. I says yes, I spoke a bit about modifying the methodology and in the end, I said:
Let us add something: the contribution of Jesus Christ to man today and to the family. It was good. Then, during the first meeting of the Post-synodal Council, I attended and saw that they were saying the title all together, in its completeness but slowly:
Yes, yes, the contribution of the family, What does Jesus Christ offer to the family, and without realizing it, the post-synodal Commission ended up speaking about the family. I am sure that it was the Spirit of the Lord who guided us to the choice of this title: I am sure, because today, families truly need so much pastoral help. Thank you.
Father Lombardi:
So, now we have another question from the French.
Questioner:
Can you tell us, Holiness, what are the obstacles to your reform of the Roman Curia, and whee are we on that matter today?
Holy Father:
Well ... the first obstacle is me (laughter). No, we are at a good point, because I believe that ... I don't remember the date, but three months ago ... shortly after the election, the Council of eight Cardinals was named ...
Father Lombardi:
... one month after the election ...
Holy Father:
... one month after the election. Then, during the first days of July we met for the first time and from that moment on we were at work. What does the Council do? The Council studied the entire Constitution
Pastor Bonus and the Roman Curia. They conducted consultations with everyone, with the entire Curia and began to study each thing.
This can be done in this way, this in another way ... Some dicasteries could be merged, for example, to
lighten up the organization a bit ... One of the key points was an economic one, and the dicastery for the economy will be very helpful. We need to work together with the Secretariat of State, because things are connected, things need to be adjusted together ... Now, we will have, in July, four days of work with this Commission, and then in September, I believe, another four days. There is work to do, so much work. And the results of all the investigations, we haven't seen them all yet, but the question about the economy was the first one to be brought to light because there had been so many problems and the press was speaking so much about it, we will see what the future will bring. The obstacles are normal obstacles to any such procedure. We need to study the terrain ... Persuasion is so important, work at persuading will help ... There are a few people who still do not see clearly, but every reform has these challenges. I am happy: really, I am happy. We have worked very hard and this Commission is a great help. Thank you.
Father Lombardi:
Holiness, thank you for your availability, please excuse me if I've interrupted your conversation: you have been very generous, especially following this extraordinary trip which has been so emotional for all of us. Perhaps not so much for us as for you, but almost. We have also followed very closely the moments of spiritual emotion that you experienced in the Holly Places. We have heard them and they have touched us. We hope to continue the rest of this journey safely, and to follow the many other things that are continually put in motion, including the upcoming encounter of prayer which will be the natural continuation and completion of this trip: that potentially will bear the fruit that you desire and that all of us want, I believe, for world peace. Thank you, Holiness, with all our hearts!
Holy Father:
Thank you so much for your company, for your kindness .. and please, please pray for me. I need your prayers, so very much. Thank you.
