“No, the Pope does not despise Paris and Notre-Dame to favor Corsica”

The Vatican confirmed this Saturday that Pope Francis, 87, will travel to Corsica on Sunday December 15 to participate in a congress on popular piety bringing together several bishops from Mediterranean countries. He will meet the island's authorities as well as the President of the Republic, who is expected to make the trip. Concentrated in Ajaccio, the one-day visit will conclude with a large mass celebrated in the city. This stay in Corsica, which will take place a week after the reopening ceremonies of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, where the Pope refused to go, arouses deep incomprehension in public opinion and on the part of the authorities, who experience it as a snub. Critics responded to by Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo, 55, a Franciscan monk, appointed archbishop of Ajaccio by the pope. This rising figure in the Catholic Church, of Spanish origin and trained in Italy, follows a very remarkable career on the island of beauty.

LE FIGARO.- The pope's trip to Corsica was announced with some delay. What grain of sand slowed down this process?

MGR FRANÇOIS-XAVIER BUSTILLO.- The Pope wanted to make this trip. I have no power to tell him what to do. We are in the logic of respect. It's a trip for the Pope. All elements must be in order before announcing it. It was necessary to resolve certain details which are not obstacles or problems, but adjustments. Rome wants to check practical aspects relating to the pope's health so that everything happens in good conditions. In itself, the trip is short, it is not tiring for the Pope, but it must be perfectly adjusted.

In Rome, some say that the formal invitation from the French president had not arrived yet this week, which explains the postponement of the announcement of the trip, initially planned last Saturday, to this Saturday?

The Pope is a head of state. He comes at the invitation of the head of state who receives him. This diplomatic practice is usual, I see no difficulty there. In any case, I did not feel any blockage from the State. As for the Holy See, I perceived a responsible approach to ensure the best conditions for the trip. But as I explained publicly on Thursday, an agreement was needed between the Élysée and the Vatican. The Pope cannot come to a country if there is no agreement with the President of the Republic. This question of pure formality is now settled. The Pope never imposes himself on another public authority, he must be invited.

The meeting with the President of the Republic was not planned in the first project. Was it recently added to the program?