During an in-flight press conference on his return flight to Rome from Iqaluit, Canada, after the “penitential pilgrimage” to apologize to the country’s indigenous communities, Pope Francis answered a few questions from journalists.
Newsroom (30/07/2022 9:00 AM Gaudium Press) Pope Francis, as is his custom when travelling abroad, spoke to journalists and answered their questions while returning to Rome after his week-long penitential pilgrimage to apologize and reconcile with the indigenous peoples of Canada. Pope Francis has adopted the custom of moving around to say hello to reporters on the outbound leg of the flight, then holding a full-blown, no-holds-barred news conference on the way back. The pontiff’s penchant for off-the-cuff interviews has led to the wry observation that while the seats on the papal plane are generally uncomfortable and the food mediocre, at least with Pope Francis, the in-flight entertainment is spectacular.
In Media parlance, the Papal plane is called “Shepherd One”; this is, however, a misnomer. The papal plane doesn’t really have a name. Its designation is usually just Alitalia flight AZ 4000 on the outbound leg, and beyond that, Italians simply call it the Volo Papale, or “Papal flight.” Even the term papal plane is something of a myth since the pontiff does not have his own personal aircraft and usually charters a plane.
The Papal Flight included a number of special guests totalling approximately 120 people. These include about 75 members of the Vatican Accredited Media Personnel (VAMP), most of whom are full-time journalists from around the world accredited to the Holy See, these sit at the rear of the plane.
The flight also included approximately 35 members of the papal staff (medical, security, etc) and key Vatican officials. The inner circle is part of the “seguito” (following), meaning they move with the papal motorcade and spend most of their time together.
The “seguito” or papal entourage included:
- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State
- Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State
- Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations
German Synodal Way
The Pope commented, “On the ‘Synodal Way,’ I wrote a letter, and I wrote it alone. After a month of prayer, reflection, and consultations. I said everything I had to say on the ‘Synodal Way.’ I do not want to say more.”
Francis continued, “This is the papal magisterium on the ‘Synodal Way.'”
He said he had bypassed the Curia with the letter at the time, as a shepherd of a Church seeking a way, as a brother, father, and believer. “And this is my message. I know it is not easy, but it is all in this letter.”
Pope Francis said he thought the latest statement from the Holy See was “a communiqué of the Secretariat of State.”
The fact that the Holy See’s statement was not signed otherwise was not done out of “ill will,” the Pope stressed, in light of “astonished” reactions from people responsible for the controversial German process.
On Retirement
Pope Francis said that he is “open” to the possibility of retiring if he discerns that it is God’s will.
“I think that at my age and with this limitation I have to cut back a little bit to be able to serve the Church or on the contrary think about the possibility of stepping aside(…) ” “The door is open. It’s one of the normal options, but up to today I haven’t knocked on that door,” the Pope said.
“I haven’t felt like thinking about that possibility. But maybe that doesn’t mean the day after tomorrow I will start thinking,” he added.
Pope Francis told one journalist in response: “Whatever the Lord says. The Lord can tell me to resign. It is the Lord who commands.”
He explained that “discernment is key in a Jesuit’s vocation,” meaning that “he must be open to whatever the Lord asks of him.”
Pope Francis also acknowledged that in the meantime, he might need to slow down a bit with his travel schedule due to his health.
“I don’t think I can move at the same pace of travel as before,” the Pope said.
“Knee surgery is not planned in my case. The experts say yes, but there is the whole problem of anesthesia. Ten months ago I underwent more than six hours of anesthesia and there are still traces. You don’t play, you don’t mess around with anesthesia,” he said.
The Pope added that he will try to continue to go on trips to be close to people “because I think it is a way of service.”
In particular, Francis highlighted that he would “like to go to Ukraine.” He said he expects his planned trip to Kazakhstan in September to attend the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions to be a calm visit.
On Residential Schools
Pope Francis said while he had not used the word genocide as it did not occur to him, he indeed had described the situation of the residential schools as a genocide. “I apologized; I asked forgiveness for this work, which was genocide.”
Pope Francis also spoke about the Doctrine of colonization.
“This Doctrine of colonization: it is true, it is bad, it is unfair. It is used, even today, with silken gloves, perhaps, but it is used, today. For example, some bishops of some countries have told me: ‘When our country asks for credit from an international organisation, they put conditions on us, even legislative conditions, colonialist conditions. To give you credit they make you change your way of life a little bit’. Going back to our colonisation of America, that of the English, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese: they are four [colonial powers] for whom there has always been that danger, or rather, that mentality ‘we are superior and these indigenous people do not count’, and that is serious. That is why we have to work at what you say: to go back and sanitise, let’s say, what was done wrong, in the knowledge that the same colonialism exists today. Think, for example, of a case, which is universal and I dare say so: I am thinking of the case of the Rohingya, in Myanmar: they do not have the right to citizenship, they are of an inferior level. Even today. “
By Raju Hasmukh
(With files from Vatican.va transcripts)