Pope Francis warned Monday that the world is living through World War III “in pieces,” noting that for years there have been “savage wars of destruction” like the one that victimized Ukraine.
“For years we have lived through the Third World War in pieces, in chapters, with wars everywhere, although the war in Ukraine “touches us more closely,” he stressed in an interview in Spanish with the platform of transmission ViX from “Noticias Univision 24/7”.
The Pope spoke about the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Europe, the child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, abortion, without also shying away from answering questions about his health and rumors of a possible resignation.
The 85-year-old pontiff spoke of the drama in Yemen and Syria, of the shortened lives of 30,000 soldiers, of the young people who died landing on the beaches of Normandy and of the wars “that are imposed” and that demonstrate that “the conscience of war” has been lost.
And yet, despite the tragedies, “humanity continues to manufacture weapons,” he lamented, adding that war “enslaves”, dehumanizes and that, according to the Catholic catechism, “the use and possession of nuclear weapons is immoral” .
On the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Francisco said that he prefers to speak more about the victims than about the aggressors, “of the country that is attacked.”
Regarding the rumors related to his state of health and a possible resignation, he was clear: “I have no intention of resigning. Not at the moment”, he said in the interview of more than two hours, broadcast by TelevisaUnivision.
The head of the Catholic Church acknowledged that he always thought his time in the Vatican would be brief, but without realizing it “nine years have passed,” the pontiff said.
“If I see that I can’t, or that I am suffering or that I am an obstacle,” I hope for “help” in making the decision to retire, he said. And he expressed his “great sympathy” for the “kindness” of Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013, and leads a life, he said, of retirement, reading, study and writing, at age 95.
Francisco revealed that when the day of his retirement arrives, he would prefer to be considered a mere bishop emeritus of Rome than the pope emeritus and dedicate his time to the confession of the faithful and to the practice of charity and visiting the sick in an Italian parish.
“If I survive the resignation, I would like to do something like this: confess and go see the sick,” he stressed.
On the other hand, he forcefully reaffirmed his condemnation of abortion, arguing that there is “scientific data” that proves that “one month after conception, the fetal DNA is already there and the organs aligned, there is human life.”
Therefore, he questioned, “is it right to eliminate a human life?”
Regarding the favorable position of US President Joe Biden, a Catholic, on the protection of the right to abortion, Francis stressed that “leave it” to your “conscience”. He added: “Talk to your pastor about this inconsistency.”
On the scandals of sexual abuse of minors, he guaranteed that “the Church is increasingly aware today.” And he promised: “We will not be complicit” in these crimes.
Source: Observadora
