Pope Francis said he will not live in the Vatican or return to his native Argentina if he decides to retire.according to what he told in an interview with the radio station in Spanish TelevisaUnivision Aired this Tuesday.
Francisco said that “surely not” he would live in the Vatican or return to Argentinaand instead that “perhaps” would reside in the Basilica of San Juan de Letrántraditional seat of the bishops of Rome.
“I am the Bishop of Rome, in this case the Bishop Emeritus of Rome”, he added.
He recalled that he had planned to retire as archbishop of Buenos Aires at the time of the 2013 conclave that elected him pope.. She said that a nice apartment had been prepared in Buenos Aires, where he would continue hearing confessions in a nearby church and visiting the sick in a hospital.
“This is what I thought for Buenos Aires. I think that this scenario, if I survive until a resignation, it is possible that I die before, i would like something like this“, said.
Francis, 85 years old, denied that he was planning his retirementbut repeated that “the door is open” since Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013being the first pontiff to do so in 600 years.
While the presence of a retired pope has turned out well, the Vatican must better regulate the figure of a pope emeritusFrancis said in the interview.
Some cardinals and canon lawyers have questioned the decisions of Benedict XVI in his retirementsuch as continuing to wear the pontiff’s white cassock and keeping his papal name instead of reverting to his birth name, Joseph Ratzinger.
They say that those decisions and the presence of Benedict in the Vatican generated confusion among the faithful and allowed traditionalist critics of Francis to use the pope emeritus as a point of reference, threatening the unity of the Catholic Church.
“The first experience went quite well because he is a holy and discreet man, and he handled it well”Francis said about Benedict XVI at the interview. “But in the future, things should be delineated more, or things should be made more explicit.”.
“I think that for taking the first step after so many centuries, he gets 10 points. It is a wonder”Francis added.
The interview covered other topics. On whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should continue to receive the sacraments, Francis repeated that it was a matter of conscience that elected officials should resolve for themselves.. While the Catholic Church opposes abortion, Francis added that priests and bishops must remain pastors.
“When a pastor loses the pastoral dimension, he creates a political problem”Francis said, referring to the “polarized” debate in the United States about the president Joe Biden and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosiboth of them Catholics who support the right to abortion.
The US bishops considered reprimanding Biden for his support of abortion rights, but ultimately backed off a formal rebuke. The Bishop of Pelosi, the Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileoneprohibited him from receiving Communion in his archdiocese, although he recently received Communion during a papal mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
When asked what those Catholic politicians should do, Francis said: “I leave it to your conscience and talk to your bishop, your pastor, your parish priest, about that inconsistency.”
The pope also spoke about the situation in Cubato the one year after the massive protests of the 11J on the island, and expressed that he has a human relationship with Raúl Castro.
“I love the Cuban people very much. I had good human relations with Cuban people and I also confess it: with Raúl Castro I have a human relationship. I was happy when that little agreement was reached with the United States that President Obama wanted at the time, and Raúl Castro accepted it and it was a good step forward but it has stopped now”.
“At the moment, polling dialogues are being held to shorten the distance. Cuba is a symbol, Cuba has a great history, I feel very close, even to the Cuban bishops”, confirmed.
He then referred to the media after being asked about those who point to it as “communist”.
“Certain highly ideological media groups dedicated to ideologizing the position of others. Sometimes they don’t know how to distinguish what communism is from what Nazism is, from what populism is, from what popularism is. When they accuse me of communism I say: ‘How outdated this is’. Those accusations are over, I see them as outdated. It is made by small ideologized groups”.
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Pope Francis: “I confess, with Raúl Castro I have a human relationship”
Source-www.infobae.com