Mayor Duterte: For the record, I believe in God but not in religions, period. The most hypocritical institution in the Philippines, guess who?
Pope Francis: It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam. However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest. In the face of Islamic terrorism, it would therefore be better to question ourselves about the way in an overly Western model of democracy has been exported to countries such as Iraq, where a strong government previously existed. Or in Libya, where a tribal structure exists.
Mayor Duterte (To the Bishops): Kayo ba'y naniniwala talaga sa separation of Church and State?
Pope Francis: States must be secular. ('Secular' - not having any connection with religion). Confessional states end badly. That goes against the grain of History. I believe that a version of laicity accompanied by a solid law guaranteeing religious freedom offers a framework for going forward. We are all equal as sons (and daughters) of God and with our personal dignity. However, everyone must have the freedom to externalize his or her own faith.
Philippine President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte recently caused a stir among many Catholics in this predominantly Catholic country with his response to broadcaster Jessica Soho of GMA-7 on some religious issues.
Similarly, Pope Francis in a recent exclusive interview by the French Catholic newspaper, La Croix, created quite a controversy with his response, driving some to state that "he is declaring himself of anti-Christ spirit".
During the campaign period, Duterte said he does not care if the Catholic
hierarchy would not endorse him as he reiterated his support for family
planning.
“Some bishops came out saying ‘Do not vote
for Duterte.’ I said let this election be a sort of a referendum, a sort of a
plebiscite for the church and me,” Duterte said during a forum with The STAR.
Those who have raised concerns on the qualification of Duterte to become president were Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, Cebu
Archbishop Jose Palma, retired Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez and Archbishop
Emeritus Oscar Cruz.
La Croix releases English translation of Papal interview
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has given an exclusive interview to the French Catholic La Croix newspaper. In the broad-ranging conversation with journalists Guillaume Goubert and Sébastien Maillard for La Croix, Pope Francis discussed matters ranging from healthy secularism and the right way to understand and live according to the Church’s universal missionary mandate, to the idea of Europe in relation to the migration crisis and the possibility of peaceful coexistence among Muslims and Christians.
He also addressed the clergy sex abuse
crisis, offering considerations about an ongoing investigation – widely covered
in France – involving the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, whose
handling of the case of one pedophile priest in particular has been subject to
scrutiny and criticism. La Croix has now published an English translation of
the interview, available here.
INTERVIEW Pope Francis
– In your speeches in Europe, you refer to
the “roots” of the continent without ever describing them as Christian. Rather,
you define “European identity” as “dynamic and multicultural.” In your view, is
the expression “Christian roots” inappropriate for Europe ?
Pope Francis : We need to speak of roots in the plural
because there are so many. In this sense, when I hear talk of the Christian
roots of Europe, I sometimes dread the tone, which can seem triumphalist or
even vengeful. It then takes on colonialist overtones. John Paul II, however,
spoke about it in a tranquil manner.
Yes, Europe has Christian roots and it is
Christianity’s responsibility to water those roots. But this must be done in a
spirit of service as in the washing of the feet. Christianity’s duty to Europe
is one of service. As Erich Przywara, the great master of Romano Guardini and
Hans Urs von Balthasar, teaches us, Christianity’s contribution to a culture is
that of Christ in the washing of the feet. In other words, service and the gift
of life. It must not become a colonial enterprise.
– On April 16, you made a powerful gesture by
bringing back the refugees from Lesbos to Rome. However, does Europe have the
capacity to accept so many migrants ?
Pope Francis : That is a fair and responsible question
because one cannot open the gates wide unreasonably. However, the deeper
question is why there are so many migrants now. When I went to Lampedusa three
years ago, this phenomenon had already started.
The initial problems are the wars in the
Middle East and in Africa as well as the underdevelopment of the African
continent, which causes hunger. If there are wars, it is because there exist
arms manufacturers – which can be justified for defensive purposes – and above
all arms traffickers. If there is so much unemployment, it is because of a lack
of investment capable of providing employment, of which Africa has such a great
need.
More generally, this raises the question of a
world economic system that has descended into the idolatry of money. The great
majority of humanity’s wealth has fallen into the hands of a minority of the population.
A completely free market does not work.
Markets in themselves are good but they also require a fulcrum, a third party,
or a state to monitor and balance them. In other words, [what is needed is] a
social market economy.
Coming back to the migrant issue, the worst
form of welcome is to ‘ghettoize’them. On the contrary, it’s necessary to
integrate them. In Brussels, the terrorists were Belgians, children of
migrants, but they grew up in a ghetto. In London, the new mayor (Editor: Sadiq
Khan, the son of Muslim Pakistanis) took his oath of office in a cathedral and
will undoubtedly meet the queen. This illustrates the need for Europe to
rediscover its capacity to integrate.
I am thinking here of Pope Gregory the Great
(Editor: Pope from 590 – 604), who negotiated with the people known as
barbarians, who were subsequently integrated. This integration is all the more
necessary today since, as a result of a selfish search for well-being, Europe
is experiencing the grave problem of a declining birth rate. A demographic
emptiness is developing. In France, at least, this trend is less marked because
of family-oriented policies.
– The fear of accepting migrants is partly
based on a fear of Islam. In your view, is the fear that this religion sparks
in Europe justified?
Pope Francis: Today, I don’t think that there
is a fear of Islam as such but of ISIS and its war of conquest, which is partly
drawn from Islam. It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul
of Islam. However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s
Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same
idea of conquest.
In the face of Islamic terrorism, it would
therefore be better to question ourselves about the way in an overly Western
model of democracy has been exported to countries such as Iraq, where a strong
government previously existed. Or in Libya, where a tribal structure exists. We
cannot advance without taking these cultures into account. As a Libyan said
recently, “We used to have one Gaddafi, now we have fifty.”
Ultimately, co-existence between Christians
and Muslims is still possible. I come from a country where they co-habit on
good terms. Muslims come to venerate the Virgin Mary and St George. Similarly,
they tell me that for the Jubilee Year Muslims in one African country formed a
long queue at the cathedral to enter through the holy door and pray to the
Virgin Mary. In Central Africa, before the war, Christians and Muslims used to
live together and must learn to do so again. Lebanon also shows that this is possible.
– The significance of Islam in France today,
like the nation’s Christian historical foundation, raises recurring questions
concerning the place of religion in the public arena. How would you
characterize a positive form of laicity (Editor: ‘laicity’ refers to the French
system of separation of Church and state)?
Pope Francis: States must be secular.
Confessional states end badly. That goes against the grain of History. I
believe that a version of laicity accompanied by a solid law guaranteeing religious
freedom offers a framework for going forward. We are all equal as sons (and
daughters) of God and with our personal dignity. However, everyone must have
the freedom to externalize his or her own faith. If a Muslim woman wishes to
wear a veil, she must be able to do so. Similarly, if a Catholic wishes to wear
a cross. People must be free to profess their faith at the heart of their own
culture not merely at its margins.
The modest critique that I would address to
France in this regard is that it exaggerates laicity. This arises from a way of
considering religions as sub-cultures rather than as fully-fledged cultures in
their own right. I fear that this approach, which is understandable as part of
the heritage of the Enlightenment, continues to exist. France needs to take a
step forward on this issue in order to accept that openness to transcendence is
a right for everyone.
– In a secular setting, how should Catholics
defend their concerns on societal issues such as euthanasia or same-sex
marriage?
Pope Francis: It is up to Parliament to
discuss, argue, explain, reason [these issues]. That is how a society grows.
However, once a law has been adopted, the
state must also respect [people’s] consciences. The right to conscientious
objection must be recognized within each legal structure because it is a human
right. Including for a government official, who is a human person. The state
must also take criticism into account. That would be a genuine form of laicity. Full story on La Croix
