VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXV - # 215
DATE 01-12-2015

Summary:
- The Pope's return flight to Rome: fundamentalism is a sickness that afflicts
all religions
- Cardinal Parolin at the COP 21: Reach a global and transformational agreement
- How did the Council Fathers experience Vatican Council II?
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 The Pope's return flight to Rome: fundamentalism is a sickness that afflicts
all religions
 Vatican City, 1 December 2015 (VIS) - During his return flight following his
apostolic trip to Africa, the Pope answered questions from the journalists
accompanying him on the aircraft. The following are extensive extracts from
questions posed and the Holy Father's answers regarding his impressions of
Africa, the Vatileaks case, his upcoming trips and COP 21.
 The first question was from a Kenyan journalist who wanted to know the Pope's
views on the stories told by poor families in the Kangemi slum regarding
exclusion from fundamental human rights due to avarice and corruption.
 Pope Francis: "I understand that 80 per cent of the world's wealth is in the
hands of 17 per cent of the population; I do not know if this is true, but it
is
likely, as this is how things are. ... It is an economic system in which money,
the god of money, is at the centre. ... And if things continue in this way, the
world will not change. ... In Kangemi, where I spoke clearly about rights, I
felt
great suffering. ... Yesterday, for example, I visited a paediatric hospital,
the
only one in Bangui and in the country! And in intensive care they do not have
the instruments to provide oxygen. There were many malnourished children, many.
And the doctor told me, 'Here the majority will die, as they have malaria and
they are malnourished. ... And those people who hold 80 per cent of the world's
wealth - what do they think of this?"
 The second question regarded the most memorable moment of the Pope's trip to
Africa.
 Pope Francis: "For me Africa was a surprise. I thought: God surprises us, but
also Africa surprises! ... They have a great sense of welcome. ... Then, each
country has its own identity. Kenya is a little more modern, more developed.
Uganda has the identity of martyrs: the Ugandan people, both Catholic and
Anglican, venerate the martyrs. ... The courage of giving life for an ideal.
And
the Central African Republic: there is the desire for peace, reconciliation,
and
forgiveness".
 The third question touched on the issued of Vatileaks and the importance of
the
press in denouncing corruption wherever it encounters it.
 Pope Francis: "A free press, both secular and confessional, but professional
... is important to me, because the denouncement of injustice and corruption is
good work. ... And then those who are responsible must do something: form a
judgement, constitute a tribunal. But the professional press must say
everything, without falling prey to the three most common sins: disinformation,
or telling half a story but omitting the other half; slander, or when the press
is unprofessional and seeks to soil others with or without truth; and
defamation, or rather, to damage a person's reputation ... and these are the
three
defects that undermine the professionalism of the press. We need
professionalism".
 A French journalist asked whether, faced with the danger of fundamentalism,
religious leaders should intervene in the political arena.
 Pope Francis: "If this means participating in politics, no. Being a priest, a
pastor, an imam, a rabbi - this is the vocation of a religious leader. But
political influence is exercised indirectly by preaching values, true values,
and one of the greatest values is fraternity between us. ... Fundamentalism is
a
sickness that we find in all religions. Among Catholics there are many, not a
few, many, who believe to hold the absolute truth and they go ahead by harming
others with slander and defamation, and they do great harm. ... And it must be
combated. Religious fundamentalism is not truly religious. Why? Because God is
missing. It is a form of idolatry, in the same way as worshipping money is
idolatry. Being political in the sense of convincing these people who have this
tendency is a policy that we religious leaders must adopt".
 An Italian journalist asked why two of the defendants in the Vatileaks case,
Msgr. Vallejo Balda and Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, had been appointed.
 Pope Francis: "I think it was a mistake. Msgr. Vallejo Balda entered via the
role he had has had until now. He was secretary of the Prefecture of Economic
Affairs. I am not sure how he entered but if I am not mistaken, it was he who
presented [Chaouqui] as a woman who knew the world of commercial relations. ...
They worked and once they had finished their task, the members of the
Commission, COSEA, remained in various places in the Vatican. The same applied
to Vallejo Balda. Ms. Chaouqui did not remain in the Vatican because she
entered
for the purposes of the Commission and then left. Some say that she was angry
about this, but the judges will tell us the truth of the situation. ... For me
[what came out] was not a surprise, it did not cause me to lose any sleep,
because they have shown the work that began with the Commission of Cardinals -
the 'C9' - to seek out corruption and things that are not going well. And here
I
want to say something ... on the word 'corruption'. Thirteen days before the
death
of St. John Paul II ... in the Via Crucis, the then-cardinal Ratzinger spoke
about
corruption in the Church. He was the first to denounce it. And when St. John
Paul II died, in the 'pro eligendo Pontefice' Mass - he was the dean - he spoke
about the same thing, and we elected him for this, his liberty to say these
things. Since then there has been an air of corruption in the Vatican. ... With
respect to the judgement, I have given the concrete accusations to the judges,
because that is what is important for the defence, the formulation of the
accusations. I have not read them, the concrete, technical accusations. I would
have liked this to finish before 8 December, for the Year of Mercy, but I do
not
think this will be possible, as I would like the lawyers who defend them to
have
to time to defend; they must have the freedom to prepare a full defence".
 A South African correspondent commented on the devastation caused by AIDS in
Africa, where the epidemic continues, and where prevention is still the key. He
asked the Pope whether or not it was time to change the Church's position on
the
use of condoms.
 Pope Francis: "The question seems to me to be too narrow, or rather a partial
question. Yes, it is one of the methods; the morality of the Church finds
itself
before a perplexity: it is the fifth or the sixth commandment, defending life,
or that the sexual relationship must be open to life? ... This questions makes
me
think about what they did to Jesus once. 'Tell me Master, is it lawful to heal
on the Sabbath?'. It is obligatory to heal! ... But malnutrition, the
exploitation
of people, slave labour, the lack of drinking water: these are the problems.
Let
us not ask if we can use this sticking plaster or another for a small wound.
The
great wound is social injustice, the injustice of the environment, the
injustice
that I have mentioned such as exploitation and malnutrition. ... I do not like
to
make reference to such specific cases when people die for lack of water or
hunger, because of their habitat. ... When everyone has been healed, when there
are no longer these tragic diseases caused by mankind, either by social
injustice or to earn more money. ... Then we can ask the question, 'is it
lawful
to heal on the Sabbath?'. Why do they continue the production and trafficking
of
weapons? Wars are the greatest cause of mortality. ... I would say, do not
think
about whether or not it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. I would like to say
to
humanity: ensure justice, and when everyone is healed, when there is no more
injustice in this world, we can talk about the Sabbath".
 An Italian journalist wanted to know if the Pope had considered going to
Armenia to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the tragedy that afflicted the
population, as he did last year in Turkey.
 "Last year I promised the three Patriarchs that I would go: the promise is
there. I do not know if it will be possible to do so, but the promise stands.
...
As for wars, wars are due to ambition. I am talking about wars that are not a
legitimate defence against an unjust aggressor, but rather wars, wars are an
'industry'! ... War is a business, a weapons business. Terrorists, do they make
their weapons? Perhaps the odd small one. Who gives them the weapons for
warfare? There is a network of interests involved, and behind this there is
money, or power: imperial power, or economic power. ... But we have been at war
for many years, some times more than others: the pieces of the war are smaller,
then they become bigger. ... I don't know what the 'Vatican position' is, but
what
I think is that wars are a sin against humanity. They destroy humanity, they
are
the cause of exploitation, of human trafficking, of so many things. ... Wars
are
not of God. God is the God of peace".
 Another issue was whether the Conference on Climate Change in Paris will be
the
beginning to a solution to the environmental problem.
 Pope Francis: "I am not sure, but I can say that it is now or never. Every
year
the problems grow more serious. ... We are at the brink of suicide, to put it
bluntly. And I am sure that almost all those who are in Paris, at the COP 21,
are aware of this and want to do something. ... I am trustful. I trust these
people, that they will do something; because, I would say, I am sure that they
have the goodwill to do so, and I hope it is so. And I pray for this".
 An American journalist asked what he thought Islam the teachings of the
Prophet
Muhammed had to say to today's world.
 "It is possible to enter into dialogue; they have values. Many values. And
these values are constructive. ... Prayer, for example, and fasting. Religious
values, and also other values. One cannot cancel out a religion because there
are some groups, or many groups, at a certain historic moment, of
fundamentalists. It is true that there have always been wars between religions
throughout history, always. We too must ask forgiveness. ... And the Thirty
Years
War, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. ... We too must ask forgiveness, for
fundamentalist extremism and for religious wars".
 The Pope's visit to Mexico and other Latin American countries was the theme of
the next question.
 Pope Francis: "I will go to Mexico. First of all, I would like to visit Our
Lady, the Mother of America, and so I will go to Mexico City. If it were not
for
the Virgin of Guadalupe, I would not go to Mexico City, as I would prefer to
visit three or four cities that had not been visited by Popes. But I will go to
visit Our Lady. Then I will go to Chiapas, in the South, on the border with
Guatemala; then I will go to Morelia, and almost certainly, on the way back
towards Rome, I will spend a day or less in Ciudad Juarez. With regard to
visiting other Latin American countries, I have been invited to go to Aparecida
in 2019, the other Patroness of America, for Portuguese speakers. ... and from
there perhaps I will be able to visit another country - but I do not know,
there
are no plans".
 The final question was from a Kenyan journalist, who asked: "What do you say
to
the world, which thinks that Africa is simply ravaged by wars and full of
destruction?"
 Pope Francis: "Africa is a victim. Africa has always been exploited by other

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