Pope Francis has given a long interview to Spanish radio
Pope Francis has given a long interview to Spanish radio. And, it seems, for the first time. I have listened to the two-hour conversation with the pontiff, restored to health by the grace of God, and made notes on the most important points. Whether or not you have already chosen the righteous path (since you have wandered onto this channel, the path has chosen you), if you are ready to reflect on the words of one of our contemporary spiritual fathers (nobody is hinting that your relations with your own papa have not gone smoothly), then over the next few days I shall share with you quotations from Francis's wide-ranging conversation.
On his impending retirement
- I don't know where the rumours last week came from that I was going to submit my resignation!
On football
- To be a good footballer, you need two things: the ability to work in a team and not to lose the amateur spirit. When that amateur spirit is lost, sport becomes too commercialised.
On not having watched television for more than 30 years
- On 16 July 1990 /evidently the week after the World Cup, in which the reigning world champions Argentina finished second/ I made myself a promise. I felt that the Lord was asking this of me. Because we had seen something [on TV] that in the end turned out to be tasteless, unpleasant, bad.
On the possibility of slipping out of the Papal palace and appearing among ordinary people incognito, Francis says that he has three times left the residence to visit laypeople in their homes
- I would gladly walk down the street, I would gladly take a stroll, but I must deny myself this, because I simply would not be able to walk ten metres. ...I have never been tempted to dress in civilian clothes and appear on the street.
Who does the Pope consider himself to be?
- I am just a sinner who tries to do good.
On his relationship with Jorge Luis Borges
- I was not a priest when I met him. I was 25 or 26, I was teaching as a Jesuit and I invited him to come and talk to my literature students. And he came... He was a very good man.
On the European Union
- For me the unity of Europe is a challenge. Either Europe goes on perfecting itself in the form of the European Union, or it falls apart.
On migrants
- There must be four attitudes towards migrants: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate. If someone welcomes them and then leaves them at home with nothing to do and does not integrate them, they pose a danger, because they feel strange.
Countries must be very honest with themselves and see how many they can take in and up to what number, and here dialogue between countries is important.
I am thinking of a country in which, a few days after a migrant arrived, he was already receiving a salary to go to school, to learn the language, and then he found work and was integrated. That was at the time of the integration of immigrants fleeing the military dictatorships of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. I am talking about Sweden.
And then migrants also face a reality, I have spoken of it before, but I repeat it: the reality of the demographic winter. In Italy there are villages that are almost empty.
On the referendum in Catalonia
- For me, the main thing in any country with problems of this kind is whether they have reconciled themselves with their own history. I do not know whether Spain has fully reconciled itself with its own history, especially that of the last century. One must enter into a process of dialogue and reconciliation; and, above all, flee from ideologies that obstruct any process of reconciliation. National unity is a wonderful expression, that is true, national unity, but it is impossible without a basic reconciliation of peoples.
