Francis’ trip to Brussels raised several controversies to which he responded, bluntly, during his return flight to Rome.
Pope Francis gave his traditional press briefing on the plane home, after a four-day trip to Belgium and Luxembourg. He took the opportunity to return to certain issues or controversies which marked this trip.
Sexual abuse in the Church: “I ask bishops not to cover up abuse, not to conceal it”
The issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is a very sensitive subject in Belgium. Friday evening, the Pope received 17 victims for two hours. Some made statements to the press, some satisfied, others very disappointed. Which prompted François to comment on this matter.
On Sunday morning, for example, he left his homily to say to the 50,000 faithful present, who then applauded him: “Let us think of all these little ones who are hit, abused, by those who should have been responsible for them. I memorize in my mind and in my heart the story of these vulnerable people I met the day before yesterday. I heard their suffering as abused people and I repeat it here: in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone, but we will all be judged. There is no room for abuse, and there is no room for covering up abuse either ».
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He then launched, still improvising, “ I ask everyone not to cover up abuse. I ask the bishops not to cover up the abuses, not to conceal them. We must condemn the perpetrators of abuse and help them to cure this disease of abuse ».
He observed: “ Evil must not be hidden, evil must be discovered, we must know “, paying tribute to the ” courage » abused people who dared to break the silence. It is necessary that ” let the abuser be judged, whether he is a layman, priest or bishop: let him be judged ».
On the flight back to Rome, the Pope returned to the subject: “I listened to the victims. I believe it is a duty. Statistics say that between 40 and 46% of abuses are committed in the family and neighborhood, only 3% in the Church. All this doesn’t matter to me, I take care of the victims in the Church! We have a responsibility to help and care for victims of abuse. Some need psychological treatment, we must help them. We also talk about compensation, because in civil law, there is one. In civil law, I think the amount is 50,000 euros in Belgium, which is too low. But we must take care of the abused and punish the abusers.»
The Pope then spoke of the aggressors: “ abuse is not a sin of today which may no longer exist tomorrow… It is a trend, a psychiatric illness and that is why we must place the aggressors under treatment and control them this way. We cannot let an abuser go free to live a normal life, with responsibilities in parishes and schools.»
Regarding abusers in the Church, the Pope explained: “ After their trial and conviction, some bishops gave priests who committed such abuse work, for example, in a library, but without contact with children in schools and parishes. We must continue on this path. I told the Belgian bishops not to be afraid and to continue, to move forward. Shame is covering up. That’s the shame.»
The place of women in the Church: “An exaggerated feminism which wants women to be masculinized does not work”
A lively controversy broke out on Saturday afternoon at the University of Louvain la Neuve, which published a press release in the minutes following the Pope’s speech strongly criticizing him: “ the University deplores the conservative positions expressed by Pope Francis on the role of women in society“. A method that François did not appreciate: “First of all, this statement was made when I spoke. It was made in advance and it is not moral.»
Then answering the substance of the question, he explained: “ I always talk about the dignity of women and I said something that I cannot say about men: the Church is “woman”, she is the bride of Jesus. Masculinizing the Church, masculinizing women, is not human, it is not Christian. The feminine has its own strength. Indeed, women, I always say, are more important than men, because the Church is woman, the Church is the bride of Jesus. If that sounds conservative to these ladies, then I’m Carlo Gardell (famous Argentinian tango singer, Editor’s note)because… I don’t understand!”
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Continuing, he retorted: “I notice that there is a dull mind that does not want to hear about this. Woman is the equal of man, and even, in the life of the Church, woman is superior, because the Church is woman.”
Regarding the responsibilities of women in the Church, Francis commented: “When it comes to ministry, the mystique of woman is greater than ministry. A great theologian has studied this subject. He asked this question: who is the greatest, the Petrine ministry [celui du pape] or the Marian ministry [celui de la Vierge Marie ]? The Marian ministry is greater because it is a ministry of unity, engaging, while the other is a ministry of guidance.»
Therefore : “The motherhood of the Church is a motherhood of women. The ministry [sacerdotal] is a very minor ministry, given to accompany the faithful, always within the framework of motherhood. And several theologians who have studied this question say that it is a reality, I do not say ‘modern’, but ‘real’. So it’s not outdated.»
Francis then concluded: “UExaggerated feminism that wants women to be masculinized doesn’t work. On the one hand, there is a masculinism that is not working, and on the other, a feminism that is not working either. What works is the “woman” Church, which is superior to the priestly ministry.”
Abortion: “you are killing a human being”
Asked whether his plan to beatify King Baudoin would not rekindle the debate on abortion, Francis replied: “Women have the right to life: to their lives, to the lives of their children. But let’s not forget to say this: an abortion is homicide. Science tells us that from the month of conception, all the organs are already there… You kill a human being. And the doctors who do this are, if I may say so, hitmen. They are hitmen. And on this point we cannot argue. We are killing a human life. And women have the right to protect life. Anti-contraceptive methods are something else. It should not be confused. I am now only talking about abortion. And that can’t be debated. Forgive me, but it’s the truth.»
The war in the Middle East: “defense must always be proportional to attack. There is a morality to respect”
Asked on the plane about the recent Israeli bombings in Lebanon, the Pope confided: “I call the Gaza parish every day. I am there, with the parish and the college, where there are more than 600 people. They tell me what’s happening, and even the cruelties that occur there. I don’t know, completely [ à propos du Liban ] how things happened but defense must always be proportional to attack. When something is disproportionate, it shows a dominant trend that goes beyond morality. A country that, with its forces, does these things – I am talking about any country – in such a “superlative” way is carrying out immoral actions. Even in times of war, there are morals to respect. War is immoral, but the rules of war imply a certain morality. But when this is not the case, we witness – as they say in Argentina – ‘bad blood’».
