God Is Always Near. Pope Francis

two of you frequently in contact, and is he helping you in your work? Thank you.

       Pope Francis

      I think the last time there were two popes—or even three popes!—they weren’t speaking to one another. They were fighting over who was the true pope! We ended up with three popes during the Western Schism.

      There is one thing that describes my relationship with Benedict: I have such great affection for him. I have always loved him. For me, he is a man of God, a humble man, a man of prayer. I was so happy when he was elected pope. Moreover, when he resigned, for me it was an example of greatness. He is a great man. Only a great man does such a thing! A man of God and a man of prayer.

      Now he is living in the Vatican, and there are those who tell me: “How can this be? Two popes in the Vatican! Doesn’t he get in your way? Isn’t he plotting against you?” All sorts of things! I have found a good answer for this: “It’s like having your grandfather in the house—a wise grandfather.” When families have a grandfather at home, he is venerated, he is loved, and people listen to him. Pope Benedict is a man of great prudence. He doesn’t interfere! I have often said to him, “Holiness, receive guests, lead your own life, come along with us.” He did come for the unveiling and blessing of the statue of St. Michael. So, my response says it all.

      For me it’s like having a grandfather at home: my own father. If I have a problem or something I don’t understand, I can call him on the phone: “Tell me, can I do this?” When I went to talk with him about that big problem, Vatileaks, he explained everything with great simplicity in order to be helpful.

      I don’t know whether you are aware of this. I believe you are, but I’m not certain. When he spoke to us in his farewell address, on February 28, he said: “In your midst is the next pope: I promise him obedience.” He is a great man; this is a great thing!

       Father Lombardi

      Now it is the turn of a Brazilian once again; Ana Ferreira, followed by Gian Guido Vecchi from the Italian group.

       Ana Ferreira

      Good evening, Holy Father. Thank you. I would like to thank you for several things. Thank you for having brought so much joy to Brazil, and thank you, too, for answering our questions. We journalists really like to ask questions. Since you spoke yesterday to the Brazilian bishops about the participation of women in our Church, I would like to know and to better understand what this participation of us women in the Church should look like. Also, what do you think of women’s ordination? What should our position in the Church be like?

       Pope Francis

      I would like to explain a bit more what I said about women’s participation in the Church. It can’t simply be limited to serving as altar servers, presiding over Caritas, serving as catechists. No! They have to be something more, something profoundly more, even mystically more, along the lines of what I said about the theology of womanhood. And, as far as women’s ordination is concerned, the Church has spoken and said, “No.” John Paul II said it, but in more definitive terms. That door is closed.

      Nonetheless, I would like to say something in this regard. I’ve already said it, but I’d like to repeat it. Our Lady, Mary, was more important than the apostles, than the bishops, deacons, and priests. Women in the Church are more important than bishops and priests. How? This is something we have to try to explain better, because I believe that we lack a theological explanation of this. Thank you.

       Father Lombardi

      Gian Guido Vecchi, from Corriere della Sera. Then I would ask Mrs. Pigozzi and Nicole to come forward.

       Gian Guido Vecchi

      Holy Father, during this visit you have spoken on several occasions about mercy. With regard to the reception of the sacraments by the divorced and remarried, is there the possibility of a change in the Church’s discipline so that these sacraments might be an opportunity to bring these people closer together rather than a barrier separating them from the other faithful?

       Pope Francis

      This topic frequently comes up. Mercy is something much larger than the one case you raise. I believe that this is a time of mercy. The new era that we have entered, along with the many problems in the Church, such as the poor witness that some priests have given, problems of corruption in the Church, and the problem of clericalism, just to cite a few examples, have hurt so many people, have left so much hurt behind. The Church is a mother: she has to go out to heal those who are hurting, with mercy. If the Lord never tires of forgiving, we have no other choice than this: first of all, to care for those who are hurting. The Church is a mother, and she must travel along this path of mercy, and find mercy for all. When the prodigal son returned home, his father didn’t say: “Sit down and listen. What did you do with the money?” No! He celebrated! Then, perhaps, when his son was ready to talk, he spoke to him. The Church has to do this: not only wait for them, but go out and find them! That is what mercy is about.

      Moreover, I believe that this is a kairos: this time is a kairos of mercy. John Paul II had the first intuition of this when he started reading about Faustina Kowalska and the Divine Mercy. He was on to something. He perceived that this was a need in our time. With reference to the issue of giving Communion to people in a second marriage—people who are divorced can receive Communion, that’s not a problem, but when they’re in a second marriage, they can’t. I think we need to look at this within the larger context of pastoral care within marriage. So, it is a problem. Parenthetically, though, the Orthodox have a different practice. They follow the theology of what they call oikonomia. They give a second chance; they allow it. But I believe that this problem—here I close the parenthesis—must be studied within the context of pastoral care within marriage.

      In this regard, two things: First, one of the themes to be examined with the eight members of the Council of Cardinals, with whom I will meet from October 1-3, is how to move forward in the area of pastoral care within marriage, and this problem will come up there. Second, two weeks ago, the secretary of the Synod of Bishops met with me about the theme for the next synod. It was an anthropological theme. But talking it over, going back and forth, we saw this anthropological theme more clearly: How does faith help a person with his plan in life, specifically in the family, which leads, therefore, to pastoral care within marriage? We are moving toward a somewhat deeper concept of pastoral care within marriage.

      This is a problem that concerns us all, because there are so many problems like this, are there not? For example, I will only mention one. Cardinal [Antonio] Quarracino, my predecessor, used to say that as far as he was concerned, half of all marriages are null. Why did he say this? Because people get married lacking maturity, they get married without realizing that it is a lifelong commitment, they get married because society tells them they have to get married. This is where pastoral care within marriage also comes in. Then there is also the legal problem of the nullity of marriages. This has to be reviewed, because there are not enough ecclesiastical tribunals for this. The problem of the pastoral care within marriage is complex. Thank you.

       Father Lombardi

      Thank you. And now we have Mrs. Pigozzi, from Paris Match, also from the French group.

       Carolina Pigozzi