In an interview with Pablo Rodari of the Italian-speaking Swiss television, which will broadcast it on Sunday evening, on the eve of the tenth anniversary of his election as pontiff and which was broadcast to the press this Friday, the Pope francesco address current issues. What abandon only if he suffers “a tiredness that doesn’t make you see things clearly”.
He also reiterates it a third world war is already being fought and recalls the Argentine philosopher Amelia Podetti who influenced his thought that “reality seems better from the suburbs than from the centre” because “universality can be understood from a distance”.
Below is the dialogue between the Argentine pope and Rodari.
His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI has cleared the way for his resignation. You said it’s a possibility but you’re not contemplating it right now. In the future, what could lead you to resign?
– A tiredness that doesn’t make you see things clearly. The lack of clarity, of knowing how to assess the situation. Even the physical problem can be given. I always sue for it and follow advice. How are things? What do you think I should do? I ask those who know me and also some smart cardinals. And they tell me the truth. I went on to say you are doing fine. But please, I ask you: shout in time!
-There are many wars in the world. Why is it difficult to understand the drama?
-In just over a hundred years there have been three world wars: 14-19, 39-45 and this one, which is a world war. It started apart and now no one can say it’s not worldwide. The great powers are all involved. The battlefield is Ukraine. There they all fight. This makes the arms industry think. A technician told me: if weapons were not produced for a year, the problem of hunger in the world would be solved. It’s a market. War is waged, old weapons are sold, new ones are tested.
-Before the conflict in Ukraine, you met Putin several times. If you met him today, what would you say to him?
-I would speak clearly, as I speak in public. He is a cultured man. On the second day of the war, I went to the Russian embassy to the Holy See to say I was ready to go to Moscow as long as Putin gave me a window to negotiate. Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister) replied thanking me, but now is not the time. Putin knows I’m available. But there are always imperial interests there. Not just of the Russian empire but of empires elsewhere. It is typical of empires to put nations second.
(To Putin) I would speak clearly, as I speak in public. He’s a cultured man.”
-Which other wars do you feel closest to?
-The conflict in Yemen, Syria, the poor Rohingya of Myanmar. Why these sufferings? Wars hurt. There is no spirit of God. I don’t believe in holy wars.
How have you changed in the last ten years?
-I am old. I have less physical stamina. The knee was a physical humiliation, even though I’m recovering well now.
I am old. I have less physical stamina. The knee was a physical humiliation, even if I’m recovering well now.”
Was moving around in a wheelchair difficult for you?
– I was a little embarrassed.
-Many describe him as the Pope of the least. Do you feel like this?
-It’s true that I prefer the discarded, but that doesn’t mean that I discard the others. The poor are Jesus’ favorites. But Jesus does not drive out the rich.
-Jesus asks to bring someone to his table, what does that mean?
-It means that no one is excluded. When they didn’t come to the party, he said: go to the crossroads and call everyone, sick, good and bad, small and big, rich and poor, everyone. We must not forget this: the Church is not a home for some. It’s not selective. The holy people of God is this: everything.
The Church is not a home for some. It’s not selective. The holy people of God is this: everything”.
-Why do some people feel excluded from the Church due to their living conditions?
-Sin is always there. There are men of the Church, women of the Church who distance themselves, and this is somewhat the vanity of the world, to feel more just than others, but it’s not right. We are all sinners. At the moment of truth, put your truth on the table and you will see that you are a sinner.
-How do you imagine the moment of truth, the afterlife?
-I can’t imagine. I don’t know what it could be. I just want Virgo to stay close to me.
-I can’t imagine it (the afterlife). I don’t know what it could be. I just want the Virgin to be close to me.”
– Why did you decide to live in Santa Marta (the internal hotel of the Vatican)?
-Ten days after the election I went to take possession of the apostolic palace. It’s not too elegant. It’s well done, but it’s huge. The feeling I had was that of an overturned funnel. Psychologically I cannot tolerate it. Just in case, I walked past the room where I live. And I said to myself: “I stay here”. It is a hostel, inhabited by forty people who work in the Curia. And people come from all over.
– Is something missing in your previous life?
-Walk, go down the street. I walked a lot. She used the subway, the bus. Always with people.
-What do you think of Europe?
– Right now in many politicians, heads of government or young ministers. I always tell them: talk to each other. He’s from the left, you’re from the right, but they’re both young, he’s speaking. It is time for dialogue among young people.
-What does a Pope who came almost from the end of the world wear?
– What the Argentine philosopher Amelia Podetti wrote comes to mind: reality is seen better from the suburbs than from the centre. From a distance one understands the universality. It is a social, philosophical and political principle.
-How do you remember the months of quarantine, your solitary prayer in the Plaza de San Pedro?
It was raining and there were no people. I heard the Lord is there. It was something that the Lord wanted us to understand the tragedy, the loneliness, the darkness, the plague.
-You often talk about gossip, why?
– Gossip destroys coexistence, the family. It’s a hidden disease. It’s the plague.
-How were (his predecessor) Benedict XVI’s ten years in Mater Ecclesiae (the convent where he lived in the Vatican gardens)?
-Bravo, a man of God, I love him so much. The last time I saw him was around Christmas. I could barely speak. He spoke low, low, low. It was necessary for them to translate his words. I was lucid. He asked questions: How is it going? And that problem? I was up to date on everything. Last seen she was coming to an end.
-The funeral services were sober. Why?
-The ceremonialists broke their heads to perform the funeral of a non-reigning Pope. It was hard to tell the difference. Now I have said that they are studying the ceremony for the funerals of future Popes, of all Popes. We are also studying how to simplify things that are liturgically wrong a little.
-When you say goodbye, ask everyone to pray for you. Why?
-I’m sure they all pray. To non-believers I say: pray for me and if you don’t pray send me good vibes. An atheist friend wrote me…“and I send you good waves”. It’s a pagan way of praying, of loving each other well. And to love another good is a prayer.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.