Pope to return ‘Vatican-centric’ Church to people

Paterno R. Esmaquel II

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The Pope vows a Church 'that is not just top-down but also horizontal'

REFORM BEGINS. Pope Francis (center) leads the historic meeting with his Council of Cardinals in Vatican City, October 1, 2013, aiming to reform the Catholic Church. Photo by EPA/Osservatore Romano

MANILA, Philippines – Pope Francis, in an interview published Tuesday, October 1, vowed to revamp the “Vatican-centric” government of the Catholic Church, and promised to return the Church to its people.

Francis said the Church’s central government, called the Roman Curia, “sees and looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, for the most part, temporal interests.”

“This Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us. I do not share this view and I’ll do everything I can to change it,” Francis told the Italian daily La Repubblica.

He said, “The Church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people, and priests, pastors, and bishops who have the care of souls, are at the service of the people of God.”

La Repubblica, which interviewed Francis last September 24, published the conversation on the first day of the Pope’s historic meeting with his Council of Cardinals. The 8-member council – which includes members from Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas – will assist the Pope in governing the Church in a more “horizontal” way.

He explained to La Repubblica’s Eugenio Scalfari: “The first thing I decided was to appoint a group of 8 cardinals to be my advisers. Not courtiers but wise people who share my own feelings. This is the beginning of a Church with an organization that is not just top-down but also horizontal.”

‘Leprosy of the papacy’

In his interview, the Pope also criticized narcissism in the Catholic Church. He said, “Heads of the Church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy.”

He added he doesn’t like the word “narcissism” because “it indicates an excessive love for oneself and this is not good.” “The real trouble is that those most affected by this – which is actually a kind of mental disorder – are people who have a lot of power. Often bosses are narcissists.”

The first Latin American pontiff said he denounces clericalism. “It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity.”

His views on the most serious “evils” indicate his priorities.

“The most serious of the evils that afflict the world these days are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old. The old need care and companionship; the young need work and hope but have neither one nor the other, and the problem is they don’t even look for them any more. They have been crushed by the present,” he said.

“You tell me: can you live crushed under the weight of the present? Without a memory of the past and without the desire to look ahead to the future by building something, a future, a family? Can you go on like this? This, to me, is the most urgent problem that the Church is facing.”

He said these problems concern the Church “because this situation does not hurt only bodies but also souls.” He added, “The Church must feel responsible for both souls and bodies.”

Mystical experience

In a rare instance, Pope Francis also gave a behind-the-scenes look into the moment he was elected Pope. He recounted this when asked if mystical experiences have ever happened to him.

“Rarely,” he said. “For example, when the conclave elected me Pope. Before I accepted I asked if I could spend a few minutes in the room next to the one with the balcony overlooking the square. My head was completely empty and I was seized by a great anxiety. To make it go away and relax, I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even the thought of refusing to accept the position, as the liturgical procedure allows. I closed my eyes and I no longer had any anxiety or emotion.”

“At a certain point I was filled with a great light. It lasted a moment, but to me it seemed very long. Then the light faded, I got up suddenly and walked into the room where the cardinals were waiting and the table on which was the act of acceptance. I signed it, the Cardinal Camerlengo countersigned it, and then on the balcony there was the ‘Habemus Papam.’”

(Watch Rappler’s video report on his election below.)

Since his election in March, Francis has promised to build a “poor Church for the poor.”

He has chosen to live in the modest Vatican guesthouse, not in the traditional papal apartments, and has urged priests and nuns to adopt simple lifestyles.

READ: Pope hits priests, nuns with brand-new cars

His meeting with the Council of Cardinals, which will last until Thursday, October 3, will help achieve his objectives in an institutional way. – Rappler.com

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Paterno R. Esmaquel II

Paterno R. Esmaquel II, news editor of Rappler, specializes in covering religion and foreign affairs. He finished MA Journalism in Ateneo and MSc Asian Studies (Religions in Plural Societies) at RSIS, Singapore. For story ideas or feedback, email pat.esmaquel@rappler.com