INTERVIEW OF
THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI
DURING THE FLIGHT TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Fr Lombardi: Welcome, Your
Holiness! In the name of all my colleagues present, I thank you for your
gracious availability in giving us suggestions and ideas for reporting on this
Journey. It is your second intercontinental Trip: your first as Pope to
America, to the United States and to the United Nations. It is an important and
eagerly-awaited Visit. To begin with, could you tell us something about how you
feel, the hopes you have for this Journey and what is its fundamental goal from
your viewpoint?
The Holy Father: My Journey has two
goals in particular. The first is to visit the Church in America, in the United
States. There is one special reason for it: 200 years ago Baltimore was raised
to a Metropolitan See and at the same time four other new Dioceses came into
being: New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Louisville. Thus, it is a great
Jubilee for this core of the Church in the United States, a time of reflection
on the past and above all of reflection on the future, on how to respond to the
great challenges of our time, in the present and in view of the future. And
naturally, interreligious and ecumenical meetings are part of this Visit,
especially an additional Meeting in the Synagogue with our Jewish friends on
the eve of their Passover Feast. This is, therefore, the religious and pastoral
aspect of the Church in the United States at this moment in our history, and
the Meeting with all the others in this common brotherhood that binds us in a
common responsibility. At this time I would also like to thank President Bush
who will be at the airport to meet me and set aside a lot of time for
conversation, besides receiving me on my birthday. The second goal is the Visit
to the United Nations. Here too there is a special reason: 60 years have passed
since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the anthropological
basis, the philosophy, on which the United Nations stands, the human and
spiritual foundations on which it is built. Thus, it is truly a time for
reflection, the time to resume awareness of this important stage in history.
Various different cultural traditions converged in the Declaration of Human
Rights, above all, an anthropology that recognizes man as a subject of rights
preceding all institutions, with common values to be respected by all. This
Visit, which is taking place precisely at the moment of a crisis in values,
therefore seems to me to be important in order to reconfirm together that
everything began at that moment and to recover it for our future.
Fr Lombardi: Let us now
move on to the questions that you presented in the past few days and that some
of you will present to the Holy Father. Let us begin with the question of John
Allen, whom I do not think needs to be introduced since he is a very well-known
commentator on Vatican affairs in the United States.
Holy Father, I am asking the
question in English, if I may, and perhaps, if it were possible, if we could
have a sentence or a word in English we would be very grateful. This is the
question: the Church you will find in the United States is a large Church, a
lively Church, but also a suffering Church, in a certain sense, especially
because of the recent crisis caused by sexual abuse. The American People are
expecting a word from you, a message from you on this crisis. What will be your
Message for this suffering Church?
The Holy Father (in English): It is
a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the Church in
general, for me personally, that this could happen. If I read the history of
these events, it is difficult for me to understand how it was possible for
priests to fail in this way in the mission to give healing, to give God's love
to these children. I am ashamed and we will do everything possible to ensure
that this does not happen in future. I think we have to act on three levels:
the first is at the level of justice and the political level. I will not speak
at this moment about homosexuality: this is another thing. We will absolutely
exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry; it is absolutely incompatible,
and whoever is really guilty of being a paedophile cannot be a priest. So at
this first level we can do justice and help the victims, because they are
deeply affected; these are the two sides of justice: one, that paedophiles
cannot be priests and the other, to help in any possible way the victims. Then
there is a pastoral level. The victims will need healing and help and
assistance and reconciliation: this is a big pastoral engagement and I know
that the Bishops and the priests and all Catholic people in the United States
will do whatever possible to help, to assist, to heal. We have made a
visitation of the seminaries and we will do all that is possible in the
education of seminarians for a deep spiritual, human and intellectual formation
for the students. Only sound persons can be admitted to the priesthood and only
persons with a deep personal life in Christ and who have a deep sacramental
life. So, I know that the Bishops and directors of seminarians will do all
possible to have a strong, strong discernment because it is more important to
have good priests than to have many priests. This is also our third level, and
we hope that we can do, and have done and will do in the future, all that is
possible to heal these wounds.
Fr Lombardi: Thank you,
Your Holiness. Our colleagues sent in many questions on the subject of
immigration, on the presence of Spanish-speaking people in American society.
Journalist Andrés Leonardo Beltramo Alvares, who works for the Mexican News
Agency, asks about this.
Your Holiness, I am asking the
question in Italian and then, if you wish, you can make your comment in Spanish
- a greeting, only a greeting! There is enormous growth in the Hispanic presence
in the Church of the United States in general: the Catholic community is
becoming more and more bilingual and almost bicultural. At the same time, there
is an increasing anti-immigration movement in society: the situation of
immigrants is marked by forms of precariousness and discrimination. Is it your
intention to speak of this problem and to ask America to give a warm welcome to
immigrants, many of whom are Catholic?
The Holy Father: I cannot speak
Spanish but mis saludos y mi bendición para todos los hispánicos. Of
course, I will be speaking about this point. I have had various ad limina visits
from Bishops of Central America and also from South America, and I have seen
the breadth of this problem, especially the serious problem of the break-up of
families. And this is really dangerous for the social, moral and human fabric
of these Countries. However, it is necessary to distinguish between measures to
be taken straight away and long-term solutions. The fundamental solution is
that there should no longer be any need to emigrate because there are
sufficient jobs in the homeland, a self-sufficient social fabric, so that there
is no longer any need to emigrate. Therefore, we must all work to achieve this
goal and for a social development that makes it possible to offer citizens work
and a future in their homeland. And I would also like to speak to the President
on this point, because it is above all the United States that must help these
countries to develop. It is in everyone's interests, not only these countries
but of the world and also of the United States. Then, short-term measures: it
is very important to help families in particular. In the light of the
conversations I have had with Bishops about the main problems, it appears that
families should be protected rather than destroyed. What can be done should be
done. Of course, it is also necessary to do everything possible to prevent
precariousness and every kind of violence, and to help so that they may really
have a dignified life wherever they may be. I also want to say that there are
many problems, much suffering, but also such great hospitality! I know that the
American Bishops' Conference in particular works closely with the Latin
American Bishops' Conferences with a view to necessary aid. Besides all the
painful things, let us not forget the great and true humanity, the many
positive actions that also exist.
Fr Lombardi: Thank you,
Your Holiness. Now a question that refers to American society and, to be
precise, to the place of religious values in American society. Let us give the
floor to our colleague Andrea Tornielli, who is on the Vatican desk of an
Italian newspaper.
Holy Father, in receiving the
new Ambassador of the United States of America, you noted that the public
"values the role of religious belief in ensuring a sound democratic
order" in the United States. I wanted to ask you if you consider this a
plausible model for a secularized Europe too, or whether you think there can
also be the risk that religion and God's Name could be used as a vehicle for
certain policies, even war.
The Holy Father: Of course, in
Europe we cannot simply copy the United States: we have our own history. But we
must all learn from one another. What I find fascinating in the United States
is that they began with a positive concept of secularity, because this new
people was composed of communities and individuals who had fled from the State
Church and wanted to have a lay, a secular State that would give access and
opportunities to all denominations, to all forms of religious practice. Thus,
an intentionally secular new State was born; they were opposed to a State
Church. But the State itself had to be secular precisely out of love for
religion in its authenticity, which can only be lived freely. And thus, we find
this situation of a State deliberately and decidedly secular but precisely
through a religious will in order to give authenticity to religion. And we know
that in studying America, Alexis de Toqueville noticed that secular
institutions live with a de facto moral consensus that exists among the
citizens. This seems to me to be a fundamental and positive model. It should be
taken into account that in Europe in the meantime, over 200 years have passed
with many developments. Today, there is also in the United States the attack of
a new secularism, quite a different kind. Whereas, at first the problems
concerned immigration, but later in the course of history the situation became
complicated and therefore differentiated. But the foundation, the fundamental
model also seems to me today to be worthy of being borne in mind in Europe.
Fr Lombardi: Thank you,
Your Holiness. And now, a last topic that concerns your Visit to the United
Nations, and the question about this is asked by John Pavis, who is in charge
of the [Rome branch of] the Catholic News Agency of the United States.
Holy Father, the Pope is often
considered to be humanity's conscience and for this reason too, his Discourse
to the United Nations is very much anticipated. I would like to ask: Do you
think that a multilateral institution like the United Nations can safeguard the
principles of the Catholic Church deemed "non-negotiable", that is,
the principles founded on natural law?
The Holy Father: The fundamental
objective of the United Nations is precisely this: that it safeguard the common
values of humanity, on which is based the peaceful coexistence of nations, the
observance of justice and the development of justice. I mentioned briefly that
I think it very important that the United Nations be founded precisely on the
idea of human rights, rights that express non-negotiable values, that precede
all the institutions and constitute the foundations of all the institutions.
And it is important that this should be the convergence between the cultures
that have achieved consensus on the fact that these values are fundamental,
that they are engraved in man's very being. It is important to renew this
knowledge that the United Nations, with its peacekeeping role, can only work if
it is based on common values that are subsequently expressed in
"rights" that must be observed by all. To confirm this fundamental
concept and to bring it as current as possible is an objective of my mission.
Lastly, since at the outset Fr Lombardi also asked me a question about my feelings,
I would like to say that I am going most joyfully to the United States! I have
previously visited the U.S. several times, I know this great Country, I know
the great vivacity of the Church despite all the problems, and I am happy to be
able to meet this great People and this great Church at this historical moment
for both the Church and the United Nations. Thank
you to all!
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Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana