Are you confused by what the media has been reporting that the Pope said
during the press conference he gave on his return to Italy from WYD?
Pope Francis gave a memorable press conference yesterday on
the airplane which brought him back from Brazil to Rome. Speaking to
journalists for about 80 minutes, Francis was startlingly candid on many
issues, but his remarks on homosexuality, priests with homosexual
tendencies, and a "gay lobby" in the Vatican, raised the most eyebrows.
When these comments were reported in various secular newspapers, an
explanation of the surrounding context of the question the Pope was
answering was omitted. Below is an email sent out on behalf of the
Vatican Press Office by Father Tom Rosica, of the Salt and Light
Television Network of Toronto, Canada, which gives the full text of this
portion of the Pope's remarks.
Here is the email circulated by Father Rosica:
RIO DE JANEIRO
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
In response to many messages and calls earlier today regarding Pope
Francis' meeting with journalists aboard the return flight to Rome from
Rio de Janeiro last night, I have received the full working transcript
of his remarks from Fr. Lombardi.
Since most of your questions
relate to his response to the question about Monsignor Ricca and the gay
lobby, I have done a working translation of the question and the full
answer of the Pope.
I have also included the
original Italian transcription and the full paragraph from the Catechism
of the Catholic Church on homosexuality to which the Pope referred.
The powerful and deeply moving visit of Pope Francis to Brazil last week
left a deep and lasting impression upon this country as well as on the
continent and the entire world. We encountered in the Bishop of Rome a
shepherd "who knows the odor of his sheep," a bearer of hope and peace,
and an extraordinary pastoral model of tenderness and mercy.
He stressed the necessity of mercy throughout his visit, and reached out to so many people on the peripheries of society.
This was especially evident
through his visit to the favela, the hospital and drug rehabilitation
centre for young people, the meeting with young prisoners, the concern
for the sick, and for young people who are broken.
He also showed how much he stands in solidarity with those living in extreme poverty and struggling for justice and peace.
His comments on the plane, particularly about the divorced and
remarried, women, and homosexuals must be read and understood through
the lenses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the outreach and concern of
the Church for those on the fringes, and the mercy, tenderness and
forgiveness of a pastor who walks among his people.
The Question to Pope Francis from Ilse, a journalist on the Papal flight
Ilse: I would like to ask permission to pose a rather delicate question.
Another image that went around the world is that of Monsignor Ricca and
the news about his personal life. I would like to know, your Holiness,
what will be done about this question. How should one deal with this
question and how does your Holiness wish to deal with the whole question
of the gay lobby?
The Pope’s Answer
[Pope Francis's response:] Regarding the matter of
Monsignor Ricca, I did what Canon Law required and did the required
investigation. And from the investigation, we did not find anything
corresponding to the accusations against him. We found none of that.
That is the answer.
But I would like to add one
more thing to this: I see that so many times in the Church, apart from
this case and also in this case, one looks for the "sins of youth," for
example, is it not thus? And then these things are published. These
things are not crimes. The crimes are something else: child abuse is a
crime.
But sins, if a person, or
secular priest or a nun, has committed a sin and then that person
experienced conversion, the Lord forgives and when the Lord forgives,
the Lord forgets and this is very important for our lives.
When we go to confession and
we truly say “I have sinned in this matter,” the Lord forgets and we do
not have the right to not forget because we run the risk that the Lord
will not forget our sins, eh? This is a danger. This is what is
important: a theology of sin.
So many times I think of St.
Peter: he committed one of the worst sins denying Christ. And with this
sin they made him Pope. We must think about fact often.
But returning to your question more concretely: in this case [Ricca] I
did the required investigation and we found nothing. That is the first
question.
Then you spoke of the gay
lobby. Agh… so much is written about the gay lobby. I have yet to find
on a Vatican identity card the word gay. They say there are some gay
people here. I think that when we encounter a gay person, we must make
the distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a
lobby, because lobbies are not good. They are bad. If a person is gay
and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person? The
Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this point beautifully but
says, wait a moment, how does it say, it says, these persons must never
be marginalized and “they must be integrated into society.”
The problem is not that one has this tendency; no, we must be brothers,
this is the first matter. There is another problem, another one: the
problem is to form a lobby of those who have this tendency, a lobby of
the greedy people, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of Masons, so many
lobbies. This is the most serious problem for me. And thank you so much
for doing this question. Thank you very much!
Original transcript in Italian
(Ilse) Vorrei chiedere il permesso di fare una domanda un po’ delicata:
anche un’altra immagine ha girato un po’ il mondo, che è stata quella di
mons. Ricca e delle notizie sulla sua intimità . Vorrei sapere, Santità ,
cosa intende fare su questa questione? Come affrontare questa questione
e come Sua Santità intende affrontare tutta la questione della lobby
gay?
(Papa Francesco): Quello di mons. Ricca: ho fatto quello che il Diritto
Canonico manda a fare, che è la investigatio previa. E da questa
investigatio non c’è niente di quello di cui l’accusano, non abbiamo
trovato niente di quello. Quella è la risposta. Ma io vorrei aggiungere
un’altra cosa su questo: io vedo che tante volte nella Chiesa, al di
fuori di questo caso ed anche in questo caso, si va a cercare i “peccati
di gioventù”, per esempio, no?, e questo si pubblica. Non i delitti,
eh? I delitti sono un’altra cosa: l’abuso sui minori è un delitto. No, i
peccati. Ma se una persona, laica o prete o suora, ha fatto un peccato e
poi si è convertito, il Signore perdona e quando il Signore perdona, il
Signore dimentica e questo per la nostra vita è importante. Quando noi
andiamo a confessarci e diciamo davvero “Ho peccato in questo”, il
Signore dimentica e noi non abbiamo il diritto di non dimenticare,
perché abbiamo il rischio che il Signore non si dimentichi dei nostri
[peccati] eh? E’ un pericolo quello. Quello è importante: una teologia
del peccato. Tante volte penso a San Pietro: ha fatto uno dei peggiori
peccati, che è rinnegare Cristo, e con questo peccato lo hanno fatto
Papa. Dobbiamo pensare tanto.
Ma tornando alla Sua domanda più concreta: in questo caso, ho fatto
l’ivestigatio previa e non abbiamo trovato. Questo è la prima domanda.
Poi, Lei parlava della lobby gay: mah… si scrive tanto della lobby gay.
Io ancora non ho trovato mi dia la cartella d’identità in Vaticano con
“gay”. Dicono che ce ne sono. Credo che quando uno si trova con una
persona così, deve distinguere il fatto di essere una persona gay dal
fatto di fare una lobby, perché le lobby tutte non sono buone. Quello è
il cattivo. Se una persona è gay e cerca il Signore e ha buona volontà ,
ma chi sono io per giudicarla? Il catechismo della Chiesa cattolica
spiega tanto bello questo, ma dice, Aspetta un po’, come si dice…e dice
“non si devono emarginare queste persone per questo, devono essere
integrate in società ”. Il problema non è avere questa tendenza, no:
dobbiamo essere fratelli, perché questo è uno, ma se c’è un altro, un
altro, il problema è fare lobby di questa tendenza o lobby di avari,
lobby di politici, lobby dei massoni, tante lobby. Questo è il problema
più grave per me. E La ringrazio tanto per aver fatto questa domanda.
Grazie tante!
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual
tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively
disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted
with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust
discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are
called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians,
to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may
encounter from their condition.
On behalf of Fr. Federico Lombardi and the Holy See Press Office, thank
you for your continued interest and collaboration. —Father Tom Rosica
Below is a link to the complete audio file of the press conference with the Pope:
http://www.avvenire.it/Audio/Pagine/Audio.aspx?AudioId=148
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