VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 132
DATE 14-07-2015
Summary:
- The Pope on his return flight to Rome: encourage Latin America's young Church
- The Holy See regards the Iranian nuclear programme in a positive light
- Other Pontifical Acts
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The Pope on his return flight to Rome: encourage Latin America's young Church
Vatican City, 14July 2015 (VIS) - During the return flight from Paraguay to
Rome, the Pope answered questions from the journalists who accompanied him on
his apostolic trip to Latin America, as summarised below.
Question: Why does Paraguay not have a cardinal? What sin has Paraguay
committed, so as not to have a cardinal?
Answer: Well, not having a cardinal isn't a sin. The majority of countries in
the world do not have a cardinal. The nationalities of the cardinals ... are a
minority compared to the whole. ... At times, for the election of cardinals, an
evaluation is made, the files are studied one by one, you see the person, the
charism especially, of the cardinal who will have to advise and assist the Pope
in the universal government of the Church. The cardinal, though he belongs to a
particular Church, is incardinated in the Church of Rome, and needs to have a
universal vision. This does not mean that there is not a bishop in Paraguay who
has it, but you always have to elect up to a number, there is a limit of 120
cardinal electors. ... I ask another question: Does Paraguay deserve a
cardinal,
if we look at the Church of Paraguay? I'd say that yes, they deserve two, but
it
has nothing to do with merits. It is a lively Church, a joyful Church, a
fighting Church with a glorious history.
Question: We would like to know whether you consider just the Bolivians wish
to
have sovereign access to the sea, to return to having a sovereign access to the
Pacific, and by what criteria. And, Holy Father, should Chile and Bolivia ask
for your mediation, would you accept?
Answer: The issue of mediation is very delicate, and it would be a last step.
That is, Argentina experienced this with Chile, and it was truly to stop a war.
It was a very extreme situation, and dealt with very well by those appointed by
the Holy See, always backed by John Paul II who was very interested. ... At the
moment, I have to be very respectful about this because Bolivia has made an
appeal to an international court. So at present if I make a comment, as a head
of State, it could be interpreted as involvement or pressure on my part. It is
necessary to be very disrespectful of the decision of the Bolivian people who
made this appeal. ... There is another thing I want to make very clear. In the
Cathedral of Bolivia, I touched on this issue in a very delicate way, taking
into account the situation of the appeal to the international court. I remember
the context perfectly - brothers have to engage in dialogue, the Latin American
peoples need to engage in dialogue. I stopped, I was silent a moment, and then
said, "I'm thinking of the sea". I continued, "dialogue and dialogue." I think
it was clear that my comment referred to this problem, with respect for the
situation as it is at present. It is in an international tribunal, so it is not
possible to speak about mediation or facilitation. We have to wait.
Follow-up question: Is the Bolivians' wish just or not?
Answer: There is always a base of justice when there is a change in the
territorial borders, particularly after a war. So this is under continuous
revision. I would say that it is not unfair to present something like this,
this
wish. I remember that in the year 1961, during my first year of philosophy, we
were given a documentary about Bolivia ... called "The Ten Stars". And it
presented each one of the nine provinces and then, at the end, for the tenth,
there was the sea, without a word. That stayed in my mind. It was the year
1961.
In other words, it is clear that there is a desire.
Question: Ecuador was in a state of unrest before your visit, and after you
left the country those who oppose the government returned to the streets. It
seems that they would like to use your presence in Ecuador for political ends,
especially because of the phrase you used, "the people of Ecuador have stood up
with dignity". I would like to ask you, if possible, what did you mean by this
phrase?
Answer: Evidently there were some political problems and strikes. I don't know
the details of politics in Ecuador and it would be foolish of me to give an
opinion. Afterwards I was told that there was a type of hiatus during my visit,
which I am grateful for, as it is the gesture of a people on their feet, of
respect for the visit of a Pope. ... But if these problems resume, clearly, the
problems and political debates continue. With regard to the phrase you
mentioned: I refer to the greater awareness of their courage that the people of
Ecuador have been gaining. There was a border war with Peru not long ago. There
is a history of war. Then, there's been a greater awareness of Ecuador's ethnic
diversity and dignity. Ecuador is not a throwaway country. Or rather, it refers
to the people as a whole and to all of the dignity of the people who, after the
border war, stood up with ever greater awareness of its dignity and the wealth
it has in its diversity and variety. In other words, it cannot be attributed to
one concrete political situation. That phrase - I was told, I did not see it
myself - was manipulated to suggest that the government had put Ecuador on her
feet, or that she had been raised to her feet by those opposing the government.
One comment can be manipulated, and I believe that in this we must be very
careful.
Question: In your address to popular movements in Bolivia you spoke about the
new colonialism and the idolatry of money that subjugates the economy, and the
imposition of austerity measures that continually "tighten the belt" of the
poor. For some weeks now in Europe there is the situation in Greece, which
risks
leaving the Euro zone. What do you think about what is happening in Greece, and
which also affects all of Europe?
Answer: I am near to this situation, as it is a phenomenon present throughout
the world, all over the world. Also in the East, in the Philippines, in India,
in Thailand. There are movements that are organised among themselves not as a
form of protest but in order to keep going and to be able to live. And they are
movements that have momentum, and these people - there are many of them - do
not
feel represented by union, as they say that the unions are now corporations and
do not fight - I am simplifying somewhat - for the rights of the poor. And the
Church cannot be indifferent to this. The Church has a social doctrine and is
in
dialogue with these this movement, and does so well. You have seen the
enthusiasm of feeling that the Church - they say - is not distant from us, the
Church has a doctrine that helps us to fight for this. It is a dialogue. The
Church does not choose an anarchic path. No, we are not anarchists. These
people
work, they try to work hard even with waste, with what is left over; they are
real workers.
Then, regarding Greece and the international system, I do not understand it
well ... but it would certainly be all too simple to say that the blame lies
only
on one side. If the Greek government has advanced this situation of
international debt, it too bears responsibility. With the new Greek government,
there have been steps in the right direction, towards revision. I hope, and it
is the only thing I can say to you, as I do not know the situation well, that a
way will be found to solve the Greek problem, and also a path of supervision so
that other countries do not experience the same problem, and that this may help
us to go ahead, as the path of loans and debts never ends. I was told, about a
year or so ago, that there was a United Nations project ... whereby a Country
can
declare itself bankrupt - which is not the same as being in default - but it is
a project I heard about and I do not know how it ended or whether or not it was
true. If a company can declare bankruptcy why can't a country do it, so that we
can then go to the aid of others?
Then, with regard to the new colonialisms, evidently these are a question of
values. The colonialism of consumerism, for example. The habit of consumerism
is
the result of a process of colonisation, as it leads to a habit that is not
one's own and causes a personality imbalance. Consumerism also upsets the
balance of the domestic economy and of social justice, as well as physical and
mental health, for instance.
Question: Holy Father, what did you think when you received the hammer and
sickle with Christ on it, offered by President Morales? And what became of the
object?
Answer: I didn't know about it, and I was not aware that Fr. Espinal was a
sculptor and also a poet. I found out in these days. I saw it and it was a
surprise to me. It can be qualified as belonging to the genre of protest art.
For example, in Buenos Aires a few years ago there was an exhibition of protest
art by a good, creative Argentine sculptor - he is dead now - and I remember a
work which was a crucified Christ on a bomber that was falling down. It was a
critique of Christianity allied with imperialism, in the form of the bomber.
Firstly, then, I did not know about it and secondly, I would qualify it as
protest art that can in some cases be offensive; in some cases. Thirdly, in
this
specific case: Fr. Espinal was killed in the year 1980. It was a time in which
liberation theology had many different threads, one of which was the Marxist
analysis of reality, and Fr. Espinal subscribed to this. ... In the same year,
the
Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Arrupe, sent a letter to the
whole
Society regarding the Marxist analysis of reality in theology, stopping this to
some extent, saying no, this doesn't work, they are different things, it is not
right. And four years later, in 1984, the Congregation for the Doctrine of
Faith
published its first short volume, its first declaration on liberation theology,
which it criticised. Then there was the second, that opens up more Christian
perspectives. ... Let us consider the hermeneutics of that period. Espinal was
an
enthusiast of the Marxist analysis of reality, but also of theology. That work
came from this. Espinal's poetry also belongs to the protest genre: it was his
life, his thought. He was a special man, with great human geniality, who fought
in good faith. Through a hermeneutics of this type I understand the work. To me
it was not offensive. But I had to apply this hermeneutics and I say this to
you, so that there are not any mistaken opinions. I now carry the object with
me, it is coming with me. You perhaps heard that President Morales wished to
bestow two honours on me: one is the most important in Bolivia and the other is
of the Order of Fr. Espinal, a new Order. I have never accepted honours, but he
did this with such good will and with the wish to please. And I thought that
this comes from the people of Bolivia - I prayed about this and thought about
it
- and if I take them to the Vatican they will end up in a museum where nobody
--- MPost/386 v1.21
* Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)
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