The Interview: Francis Speaks Candidly to Journalists

Francis in the clouds…

The Interview:

Francis Drops Bombshells Aboard Flight from Rio to Rome in Off-the-Cuff Interview with Journalists

“Women in the Church are More Important than Bishops and Priests”

Few things reveal the mind of a man more clearly than when he gives candid, non-scripted, off-the-cuff responses to questions he hasn’t seen before. And few things are a better advertisement for the sedevacantist Catholic position than Jorge Bergolgio — “Pope Francis” — speaking his mind freely and openly.

Aboard his return flight from Rio de Janeiro back to Rome after World Youth Day ended on July 28, 2013, Francis gave a press conference for 1 hour and 22 minutes, allowing journalists to ask him anything they pleased. Speaking in Italian, Francis addressed the following hot-button topics the journalists had broached:

• Sacraments for public adulterers
• The role of women in the Church
• Homosexual clergy and the “Gay Lobby”
• The scandal surrounding “Mgr.” Battista Ricca
• The Vatican Bank
• And more

Not surprisingly, Francis’ answers contained real fireworks.
Here are some highlights – or lowlights, really:

• He didn’t denounce abortion or homo “marriage” on his trip to Brazil because the Church’s position is clear on the matter and “I needed to sound positive on my trip to Brazil”
• He likes to call himself “Bishop of Rome” because this title “favors ecumenism”
• He thinks the “Charismatic Renewal” movement is a “gift from the Holy Spirit”
• He wants the Church to create a “theology of women”
• He said that “women in the Church are more important than bishops and priests”
• He signals a possible permission for public adulterers (“divorced and remarried”) to be admitted to the Novus Ordo sacraments: “This is the time to show mercy”; in October, he will “discuss how to proceed” with his eight-“cardinal” commission
• He rejoices that Angelo Roncalli (later “Pope” John XXIII) had fraudulent baptismal certificates (!) made to give to Jews during World War II
• Regarding “Mgr.” Battista Ricca: “None of the accusations against him have proved to be true. We haven’t found anything!”
• He says that [in the context of the Ricca scandal] as long as sins are not also crimes, we must “forgive and forget” if someone has repented and confessed (apparently Bergoglio here does not understand the nature of scandal and the importance of the Holy See enjoying an impeccable reputation; cf. Proverbs 22:1 –NOW)
• He says that the real problem about the “Gay Lobby” is not the “gay” part but the “lobby” part! “There is a distinction between being gay, being this way inclined and lobbying. Lobbies are not good. If a gay person is in eager search of God, who am I to judge them? The Catholic Church teaches that gay people should not be discriminated against; they should be made to feel welcome. Being gay is not the problem, lobbying is the problem and this goes for any type of lobby, business lobbies, political lobbies and Masonic lobbies.” (Keep in mind that Bergoglio is on record stating that a priest “does not have the right to force anything on anyone’s private life… who am I to get involved?” For him, this constitutes “spiritual harassment” – see here.)
• Our analysis and commentary on the “Judging Gays” statement can be found here

To ensure no one will accuse us of twisting his words, taking them out of context, or misinterpreting them, we are providing the following links that disclose the content of the press conference, either in full or in part:

• Vatican.va: Full Transcript of Press Conference with Francis on July 28, 2013 (Italian)
• Vatican News: “Pope Holds Press Conference on Flight Back from Brazil”
• Vatican Information Service: “Francis Speaks to Journalists On Board Papal Flight”
• Catholic News Agency: “Pope Gives Surprising In-Flight Press Conference”
• Catholic World News: “Pope Tackles Tough Questions in Remarkable Interview”
• Vatican Insider: “Pope Francis Tells All on Flight from Rio to Rome”
• L’Espresso: “From Rio de Janeiro to Rome, from Poetry to Prose”

See Also:

• Francis on “Judging” Homosexuals – Analysis & Commentary
• Francis on Muslim Ramadan: “Abundant spiritual fruit” can be obtained from its observance
• Jorge Bergoglio: What you need to know about the man who claims to be the Pope

Image source: youtube.com (screenshot)
License: fair use