This is so
right. He really does have a clear
understanding of how to change things within the church itself and this can
culminate in a serious movement to produce an ingathering of Christianity
itself and a rising secular presence that is profoundly beneficial.
Observe that he
reports on how he voided his mind before he accepted his mission. This is without further comment.
The true spiritual
power of the church is to be found horizontally and this is been remembered and
enacted. Enough said.
Pope in New
Interview Vows to Change Vatican Mentality
Tuesday, 01 Oct 2013 04:36 AM
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has promised to do
everything in his power to change the Vatican's mentality, saying in an
interview published Tuesday that it was too focused on its own interests.
He also revealed that he had briefly considered not
accepting his election as the first non-European Pope in 1,300 years when his
fellow cardinals chose him in March.
In the long interview with the atheist editor of the
left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper, he said too many previous Popes in the
Church's long history had been "narcissists" who let themselves be
flattered by their "courtier" aides.
"The [papal] court is the leprosy of the
papacy," said Francis, who has brought a new style of openness, consultation and simplicity to the papacy.
The interview, conducted last week in the Pope's
spartan residence in a Vatican guest house, appeared as he began a three-day,
closed-door meeting with eight cardinals from around the world to help him
reform the Vatican's troubled administration, known as the Curia.
There are some "courtiers" among the
Curia's administrators, he said, but its main defect is that it is too
inward-looking.
"It looks after the interests of the Vatican,
which are still, in large part temporal interests. This Vatican-centric
vision neglects the world around it and I will do everything to change
it," he said.
Francis said the eight cardinals he had chosen to
make up his advisory board did not have selfish motives.
"They are not courtiers but wise people who are
inspired by my same feelings. This is the start of a Church with an
organization that is not only vertical
but also horizontal," he said.
Speaking of his personal faith, Francis said:
"A Catholic God does not exist...
"I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation.
Jesus is my master and my pastor, but God, the father . . . is the light and
the creator. This is my being."
In the interview, the Argentine Pope said that on
the night fellow cardinals elected him in the Sistine Chapel on March 13,
before formally accepting, he had asked to go to an adjoining room to be alone.
"My head was completely empty and a great
anxiety came over me. To make it go away and relax I closed my eyes and every
thought went away, even that of not accepting, which the liturgical procedures
permitted," he said.
[ And now a word
from our sponsors – the liberal press – arclein ]
On Sept. 19, Jesuit journals published a landmark
interview with Francis in which he said the Catholic Church must shake off an
obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality and
become more merciful.
Francis did not discuss themes of sexual morality in
the La Repubblica interview.
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