News Briefs

Pope Francis condemns Quran burning in interview with UAE newspaper

July 3, 2023 Catholic News Agency 6
Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 28, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Jul 3, 2023 / 04:35 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has spoken to Al-Ittihad in his first interview granted to an Arabic news outlet, according to the United Arab Emirates newspaper.

In the July 3 interview, the pope praised UAE authorities and spoke about interfaith cooperation, peace-building, and his 2019 Document on Human Fraternity.

Francis also commented on a protester’s burning of a Quran in Sweden on June 28. The Muslim holy book was burned by an Iraqi-born refugee outside a mosque in Stockholm. The incident has sparked outrage among Muslims around the world and led to a raid on the Swedish embassy in Iraq by Shia Muslim protestors.

After other recent permit requests were denied due to plans to burn copies of the Quran, the Swedish courts ruled that the protests should be allowed on the basis of freedom of expression, the BBC reported.

“I have been outraged and disgusted at such deeds,” Pope Francis said in response to a question about last week’s incident. “Any book considered sacred by its people must be respected out of respect for those who believe in it. The freedom of expression should never be used as an excuse to offend others. Allowing that is [to be] rejected and condemned.”

The papal interview was published in Arabic by Al-Ittihad with an English transcript provided to journalists.

In the interview, Pope Francis said “the future of interfaith cooperation is based on the principle of reciprocity, respect for the other and the truth.”

He said the message of every religion should be not only to call out evil, but also to promote peace: “Our task, without giving in to conciliatory measures, is to pray for one another, asking God for the blessing of peace, and to meet, dialogue and consolidate harmony in a spirit of cooperation and friendship.”

“Our task is to transform the religious sense into cooperation, fraternity, tangible acts of good,” he added.

The pope said fraternity, and caring for others, “must be directed to everyone without distinction.”

“If I only do good to those who think or believe like me, my benevolence is hypocrisy,” he said, “because good knows no discrimination nor exclusion.”

Francis called his Document on Human Fraternity, which he signed in 2019 in Abu Dhabi with the Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, an important text “for the peaceful coexistence of all human beings.”

“I would like to say that the document is a light that guides all men and women of good will on the path of coexistence and encounter. It is a roadmap for anyone who courageously chooses to be a peacemaker in our world torn apart by war, violence, hate and terror,” he said.

“Human fraternity,” he continued, “is the antidote the world needs to heal itself from the poison of these wounds.”

The pope also addressed young people and the onslaught of negativity, prejudice, and fake news they are faced with today.

He said youth need to know how to use the tools of “freedom, discernment and responsibility.”

“Freedom is what distinguishes man,” Francis said. “God created us free even to reject him. Today we can no longer force our youth not to think, to ask the question, to be skeptical, because the question is the way to the truth. And because freedom of conscience, freedom of belief, freedom of thought and freedom of expression are essential to help them grow and learn.”

“We can no longer force the youth of today, who hold in their hands cell phones that allow them to access any information, into darkness, ignorance, hatred and isolation,” he added.

Pope Francis also spoke about discernment, which he called a “gift from God” and “the ability to distinguish between the false and the true.”

Pope Francis praised Abu Dhabi’s Abrahamic Family House, which provides a common place for the three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — to worship.

The complex, which has a church, a synagogue, and a mosque, opened earlier this year.

“The Abrahamic Family House is a place for respecting diversity, which God willed, and not turning difference into contempt or a cause for conflict,” he said.

“It is a place of coexistence, tolerance and faith. Each of us can live his faith with respect for the other;s faith and human freedom,” he added. “Only those who are not sure of their faith live in fear of meeting others and rush into confrontation. A true believer lives his faith without feeling threatened by others and without the need to threaten others.”

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Pope Francis: Do you ‘live as a witness of Jesus?’

July 2, 2023 Catholic News Agency 4
Pope Francis blesses the crowds in St. Peter’s Square after praying the Angelus on July 2, 2023. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 2, 2023 / 05:30 am (CNA).

Every baptized person is called to be a modern-day prophet, living as a witness of Jesus to others, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

In his Angelus address July 2, the pope recalled that at our baptism, each of us received “the gift of the prophetic mission.”

The pope, addressing an estimated 15,000 pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square, said a prophet is not a kind of magician who can tell the future.

“This is a superstitious idea and a Christian does not believe in superstitions, such as magic, tarot cards, horoscopes and other similar things,” he said, lamenting that “many, many Christians go to have their palms read.”

“A prophet is a living sign who points God out to others, a prophet is a reflection of Christ’s light on the path of his brothers and sisters,” he explained, inviting everyone to ask themselves: “Do I live as a witness of Jesus?”

“Do I bring a little bit of his light into the life of another person? Do I evaluate myself on this? I ask myself: What is my bearing witness like, what is my prophecy like?” he said.

Pope Francis gave his weekly Sunday address, and recited the Marian prayer the Angelus, from a window of the Apostolic Palace.

He said not only are each of the baptized called to be prophetic witnesses of Christ, they also should welcome other Christians in their identity as prophets.

“It is important to welcome each other as such, as bearers of God’s message, each one according to his state and vocation, and to do it right where we live — that is, in the family, in the parish, in the religious community, in other places in the Church and in society,” he said.

“The Spirit,” he added, “has distributed gifts of prophecy in the holy People of God. This is why it is good to listen to everyone.”

His advice for making an important decision is to pray about it first of all and to call on the Holy Spirit.

“But then listen and dialogue trusting that each person, even the littlest, has something important to say, a prophetic gift to share,” Francis said. “Thus, the truth is sought and the climate of listening to God and our brothers and sisters is spread…”

People should feel accepted and valued because they are gifts, he said, not only because they say what we like to hear.

Pope Francis said we could avoid or resolve a lot of conflicts by listening to others with the desire to understand.

“So, finally, let us ask ourselves: Do I know how to welcome my brothers and sisters as prophetic gifts?” he said. “Do I believe that I need them? Do I listen to them respectfully, with the desire to learn? Because each of us needs to learn from others.”

After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis recalled the importance of continuing to pray for peace around the world.

“Even in this summer time, let us not tire of praying for peace, in a special way for the Ukrainian people, [who are] so worn out.”

“And let us not neglect the other wars, unfortunately often forgotten,” he added, “and the numerous conflicts and clashes that bloody many places on earth.”

“Let us take an interest in what is happening, let us help those who are suffering, and let us pray, for prayer is the gentle force that protects and sustains the world,” he concluded.

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FULL TEXT: Pope Francis’ letter to new doctrine chief Archbishop Fernández

July 1, 2023 Catholic News Agency 6
Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 28, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2023 / 13:22 pm (CNA).

The announcement on July 1 that Pope Francis has named Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández to lead the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith was accompanied by a letter the Holy Father addressed to the Argentine theologian.

While Fernández’s appointment came as a surprise to many, the pope’s letter also has attracted attention because of what it reveals about Francis’ vision for the dicastery, one of the most important and powerful offices in the Roman Curia.

The pope says in the letter that the dicastery at times has promoted pursuing “doctrinal errors” over “promoting theological knowledge.”

“What I expect from you is certainly something very different,” Francis said. “I ask you as prefect to dedicate your personal commitment in a more direct way to the main purpose of the dicastery, which is ‘guarding the faith.’”

Quoting from his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which Fernández reportedly helped to draft, Pope Francis emphasizes that the Church grows “‘in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth’ without this implying the imposition of a single way of expressing it.”

The pope said that differing “currents of thought in philosophy, theology, and pastoral practice, if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow.”

“It is good that your task expresses that the Church ‘encourages the charism of theologians and their scholarly efforts’ as long as they are not ‘content with a desk-bound theology’ with a ‘a cold and harsh logic that seeks to dominate everything.’”

The Holy See Press Office’s official English translation of the letter is below. Source material appears in footnotes beneath the letter.

Letter of the Holy Father to the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

To His Most Reverend Excellency

Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández

Vatican City, 1 July 2023

Dear Brother,

As the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, I entrust to you a task that I consider very valuable. Its central purpose is to guard the teaching that flows from the faith in order to “to give reasons for our hope, but not as an enemy who critiques and condemns” [1].

The Dicastery over which you will preside in other times came to use immoral methods. Those were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were pursued. What I expect from you is certainly something very different.

You have served as dean of the Faculty of Theology of Buenos Aires, president of the Argentinean Society of Theology and president of the Faith and Culture Commission of the Argentinean Episcopate, in all cases voted by your peers, who have thus valued your theological charisma. As rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina you encouraged a healthy integration of knowledge. On the other hand, you were parish priest of “Santa Teresita” and until now archbishop of La Plata, where you knew how to bring theological knowledge into dialogue with the life of the holy People of God.

Given that for disciplinary matters — especially related to the abuse of minors  — a specific Section has recently been created with very competent professionals, I ask you as prefect to dedicate your personal commitment more directly to the main purpose of the Dicastery, which is “keeping the faith” [2].

In order not to limit the significance of this task, it should be added that it is a matter of “increasing the understanding and transmission of the faith in the service of evangelization, so that its light may be a criterion for understanding the meaning of existence, especially in the face of the questions posed by the progress of the sciences and the development of society” [3]. These issues, incorporated in a renewed proclamation of the Gospel message, “become tools of evangelization” [4] because they allow us to enter into conversation with “our present situation, which is in many ways unprecedented in the history of humanity” [5].

Moreover, you know that the Church “grow[s] in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth” [6] without this implying the imposition of a single way of expressing it. For “Differing currents of thought in philosophy, theology, and pastoral practice, if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow” [7]. This harmonious growth will preserve Christian doctrine more effectively than any control mechanism.

It is good that your task expresses that the Church “encourages the charism of theologians and their scholarly efforts” as long as they are not “content with a desk-bound theology” [8], with a “a cold and harsh logic that seeks to dominate everything” [9]. It will always be true that reality is superior to the idea. In this sense, we need theology to be attentive to a fundamental criterion: to consider that “all theological notions that ultimately call into question the very omnipotence of God, and his mercy in particular, are inadequate” [10]. We need a way of thinking which can convincingly present a God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and calls them to fraternal service.

This happens if “the message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary” [11]. You are well aware that there is a harmonious order among the truths of our message, and the greatest danger occurs when secondary issues end up overshadowing the central ones.

In the horizon of this richness, your task also implies a special care to verify that the documents of your own Dicastery and of the others have an adequate theological support, are coherent with the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.

May the Blessed Virgin protect and watch over you in this new mission. Please do not cease to pray for me.

Fraternally,

FRANCIS

Footnotes

[1] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 271.

[2] Motu proprio Fidem Servare (11 February 2022), Introduction.

[3] Ibid., 2.

[4] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 132.

[5] Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (24 May 2015), 17.

[6] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 40.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 133.

[9] Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (19 March 2018), 39.

[10] International Theological Commission, “The Hope of Salvation for Infants who die without being baptized” (19 April 2007), 2.

[11] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 35.

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