In cooperation with two Belgian Catholic weeklys, this news site has published an interview with Pope Francis. The Pope talked about many topics: from the Second Vatican Council to the current Synod process, from the war in Ukraine to forgotten conflicts in the world. The Pope specifically invites everyone to develop a new model of economic development that leaves no one behind.
(Vatican News Network)In an interview with Belgian Catholic media, Pope Francis talked extensively about many topics, including the current process of the Synod, wars in many parts of the world, the benefits of dialogue between young and old, and an economy with a social dimension. This interview was published on February 28 in the Catholic weekly “Third” in the Flemish dialect of Belgium and in the Catholic weekly “Sunday” in French.
Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis first said: “Historians say that it took a century to fully implement the decisions of a session of the Council. We still have 40 years to go.” Go. The Council is actually God’s care for His Church. The Council is God’s power in history through holy people.”
Referring to John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis said that “he was open to the calling of the Lord”. “The ecumenical council not only contributed to the renewal of the church. It is not only about the topic of renewal, but also the challenge of making the church more lively. The ecumenical council makes the church full of youth. The church is a mother who always moves forward. The ecumenical council opens the door, Make it more mature and enhance the resonance with the signs of the times.” For example, the Vatican II document “Constitution of the Church” is a document that is both traditional and contemporary. “It’s because tradition continues to evolve and grow.”
At the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI knew that “the Western Church has almost lost its spirit of congregation, while the Catholic Eastern Church has preserved it properly. Therefore, the Pope announced the establishment of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, Its purpose is to re-promote the spirit of the congregation within the Church”. Pope Francis said that “over the past sixty years, progress has been made in this area, and something has gradually become clear. At the end of a certain Synod, all the bishops present and all bishops around the world are asked what they would like the next What was the subject of the Synod. The first was the priesthood, followed by the spirit of congregation. Apparently, all the bishops agreed that the time had come to discuss this topic”.
Ukraine in Europe is caught in the flames of war, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, where the Pope just visited, is also in constant conflict. Faced with such a situation, the Pope said: “Similar wars have been fought for many years, but we have turned a blind eye. The reason why we see Ukraine is because it is very close. War is madness, suicide, self-destruction.” Pope for This call for peacemaking.
Next, the reporter mentioned the church’s emphasis on liturgy, evangelization and social issues. “These missions are not contradictory,” the pope explained. “Prayer, adoration and worship, never retreat into the sacristy. This is wrong. The Church is not the Church if it does not celebrate the Eucharist. But hiding in the sacristy It is not an act of the church. …The celebration of the Eucharist has its follow-up results. It is the breaking of bread, which implies social responsibility and the responsibility to take care of others. Prayer and responsibility complement each other. Worship of God, and The service to our brothers and sisters must be simultaneous, because we see Jesus Christ in each of them (cf. Mt 25).
The Pope thus reminded everyone: “The social mission of the Church is the result of worship. Therefore, this mission must not be confused with charity. Charity is something that even non-believers can do. The social action of the Church derives from its Essence, because the Church recognizes Jesus in it.” The social action of the Church is crucial, because Jesus tells us that it is the standard by which we will be judged later.
Referring to the topic of dialogue between young and old, the Pope pointed out: “In the dialogue between different generations, many good things happen. The prophet Joel wrote a very beautiful sentence: ‘Your sons and your daughters will prophesy , your old people want to see dreams, and your young people want to see visions.” (3:1) Thus, young people and old people meet. The old people should not be sealed up in warehouses or museums, but should be able to continue to contribute to society. Connotation. The elder has a mission, and we should take care of the elder as a treasure. Even if his health is no longer good, or his mind is no longer clear, we must take care of him as a treasure, because That, that man or woman, gave his life to us.”
With regard to young people, we must “help them grow in wisdom”. Therefore, “the encounter between young and old has a prophetic meaning.” The Pope mentioned his personal experience: Once, they arranged for some young people to go to nursing homes to play guitar. At first the young people thought this activity was boring, but later they were unwilling to leave and started singing and chatting with the old people. “Those young people found something in the old man”. The old people know how to speak and understand the crux of the problem.
The Pope shared the story of a young man who had gone through a very complicated period in his life. He was addicted to drugs and was in a bad situation, but his family didn’t know it because he kept it well hidden. Only his grandmother addressed the problem tenderly, saying: “I am waiting for you. If you want, I am here. I support you, I love you.” The Pope pointed out that “the grandmother gave this young man a glimmer of hope. Young man Connecting with their grandparents is tantamount to sowing the seeds of life, sowing the seeds of the future”.
Given that the economic model of the new free market has reached its limits, the reporter asked the Pope in the interview whether “the economy of Francis” could offer an alternative. To this end, the Pope stated, “From Pope Leo XIII to today, the Church’s social teaching has provided inspiration. This teaching analyzes economic problems from the Gospel as its starting point”.
The Pope took out a book entitled “Ritorniamo a sognare” (Let’s Dream Again) and said: “We must actually have the courage to dream and dream of economies that are not all free. We must be careful with the economy: if It focuses too much on the purely financial aspects, looking at numbers without real content, and the economy crumbles to pieces.”
The Pope concluded by emphasizing that “at this moment some good people are rethinking the economy. The economy must have a social dimension. To the word ‘market economy’ John Paul II added the word ‘society’, that is, ‘the society of the market. economy”. We need to always look at the magnitude of society”.
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