KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
10/28/2013 VATICAN INSIDER
Pope Francis meets World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim
Jim Yong Kim
In today’s meeting with the president, Francis spoke of the importance of including the poor in a development plan that respects nature and communities
Luca ROlandi Rome In a meeting with Francis in the Vatican this morning, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said the Pope’s message about the need to include the poor in plans for growth is the same as that which the World Bank wishes to communicate. The meeting between the two leaders lasted half an hour and did not focus on economic issues but moral ones. They talked about what the two could do together. “We feel that if we can find ways of working together we could build a social movement that could accelerate progress,” in putting an end to poverty said Korean-American physician and World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim. President Obama chose Yong Kim as the representative of a World Bank that is breaking with the past, paying a greater attention to poverty in the world.Yong Kim said he was touched and moved by the warmth and kindness shown by the Pope, revealing that he spoke to the Pope in Spanish. Yong Kim learnt the language during his long experience as a doctor in Latin America. This led him to meet many of Francis’ friends, particularly in Peru.Yong Kim recalled that for the World Bank, growth is key but it also needs to be inclusive. If there are high levels of inequality, growth loses impetus and stops, he added. The president described the Pope as an inspiring figure that could strengthen these efforts and said he would like the Pope to visit Washington.Yong Kim said he and Pope Francis did not go into details but agreed on the concept of inclusive growth and the Pope apparently expressed an eagerness to work with the World Bank to put an end to poverty. The Pope underlined that growth is necessary but needs to have a goal and this goal needs to be people not money oriented. Yong Kim revealed to Francis that twenty years ago he used to participate in anti-World Bank demonstrations which called for its closure.The World Bank has changed “dramatically”, Yong Kim said, adding that whereas the Bank once saw growth alone was all that mattered, today it believes that growth cannot be attained without investing in people.Whilst recalling the importance of the strong support of important leaders such as Barack Obama and David Cameron, in combating poverty, Yong Kim also underlined how precious support from world religious leaders is.The World Bank president said that in order to achieve this, it was evaluating reviving the Bank’s inter-religious consulting committee. He added that the committee has an excellent working relationship with the Catholic Church, addressing a number of issues.Yong Kim said that although there have been differences over doctrine-related issues, the Bank and the Holy See have managed to work together on areas that both agree on and most importantly, they agree on the importance of combating poverty.EU parliament to probe bailout troikas
Today @ 13:04-Oct 28,13-euobserver
Berlin - MEPs dealing with economic
affairs are to launch an inquiry into the "non-transparent" work of EU
Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund
officials overseeing spending cuts in bailout countries.After more than three years since the first 'troikas' were sent to
Greece and Ireland to "advise" the governments and oversee
implementation of promised budget cuts, the European Parliament is
seeking to shed some light on the work of these non-elected officials.The coordinators of the main groups in the European Parliament's
economics committee on Monday (28 October) agreed to launch an inquiry
into the work of the troika in Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus."The troikas of ECB, EU commission and IMF are playing a key role in
the eurocrisis. Their work continues to be non-transparent to a large
extent," said German Green MEP Sven Giegold, the main force behind the
initiative.He explained that the inquiry would consist of hearings of troika
officials as well as independent economic studies challenging the
assumptions of the troika - assumptions that were proved to be wrong in
all bailed-out countries.
Unemployment turned out to be higher, the economy shrunk more dramatically and public debt rose more than predicted by the troika in the four countries."That is why many European citizens are expecting a comprehensive probe into why these dramatic results came about. We need to look carefully at potential breaches of law or abuses," Giegold added.The political groups are still negotiating the exact scope of the inquiry, which needs the overall approval of group leaders and committee chairs early next month. According to parliament sources, the centre-right EPP group wants to water down the probe, simply listing what the troikas had recommended throughout the years.The query will be led by Austrian EPP MEP Othmar Karas and his Social-Democratic colleague from France Liem Hoang Ngoc, while Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts from the Greens and his Dutch colleague Derk Jan-Eppink from the Conservatives will be "shadow rapporteurs."One area that may come under scrutiny is the work of private consultancies involved with the troika.
The consultancy is advising the central bank on restructuring the Bank of Cyprus.The fee, almost €5 million, would have included private deposits above €100,000 from the defunct Laiki bank and the Bank of Cyprus. These deposits were seized as part of the "bail-in" required by the troika in return for the €10 billion worth of loans from the EU and IMF.Members of the central bank's board said they were unaware of the fee, agreed by the governor, Panicos Demetriades.For his part, Demetriades claimed he was forced into agreeing to it. He said the consultancy threatened to quit one day before Cypriot banks re-opened after a week of bailout negotiations.The Cypriot authorities have launched criminal proceedings into the matter.The US consultancy meanwhile has said it is up to the Cypriot central bank to decide if and how much to pay as a "success fee."
"Alvarez and Marsal has also informed the Central Bank of Cyprus that, in their opinion, the events that have arisen during the past few days concerning the recapitalisation fee are unfortunate," the firm, who is also involved in the Spanish bank restructuring, said in a press release.
Unemployment turned out to be higher, the economy shrunk more dramatically and public debt rose more than predicted by the troika in the four countries."That is why many European citizens are expecting a comprehensive probe into why these dramatic results came about. We need to look carefully at potential breaches of law or abuses," Giegold added.The political groups are still negotiating the exact scope of the inquiry, which needs the overall approval of group leaders and committee chairs early next month. According to parliament sources, the centre-right EPP group wants to water down the probe, simply listing what the troikas had recommended throughout the years.The query will be led by Austrian EPP MEP Othmar Karas and his Social-Democratic colleague from France Liem Hoang Ngoc, while Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts from the Greens and his Dutch colleague Derk Jan-Eppink from the Conservatives will be "shadow rapporteurs."One area that may come under scrutiny is the work of private consultancies involved with the troika.
The role of consultancies
The most recent bailed-out country, Cyprus, is currently in turmoil after leaked documents showed that the central bank governor approved a "success fee" of 0.10 percent for the New York-based private consultancy Alvarez and Marsal out of the entire recapitalisation sum for the Cypriot banking sector.The consultancy is advising the central bank on restructuring the Bank of Cyprus.The fee, almost €5 million, would have included private deposits above €100,000 from the defunct Laiki bank and the Bank of Cyprus. These deposits were seized as part of the "bail-in" required by the troika in return for the €10 billion worth of loans from the EU and IMF.Members of the central bank's board said they were unaware of the fee, agreed by the governor, Panicos Demetriades.For his part, Demetriades claimed he was forced into agreeing to it. He said the consultancy threatened to quit one day before Cypriot banks re-opened after a week of bailout negotiations.The Cypriot authorities have launched criminal proceedings into the matter.The US consultancy meanwhile has said it is up to the Cypriot central bank to decide if and how much to pay as a "success fee."
"Alvarez and Marsal has also informed the Central Bank of Cyprus that, in their opinion, the events that have arisen during the past few days concerning the recapitalisation fee are unfortunate," the firm, who is also involved in the Spanish bank restructuring, said in a press release.
EU virtual border scheme based on 'creative' figures
28.10.13 @ 18:32-euobserver
BRUSSELS - A European Parliament civil
liberties report suggests the European Commission used misleading
arguments to back its billion-euro plus proposal to finger print
non-Europeans on visit to the EU.
“It’s really amazing that the commission has been so creative with figures, I find it really shocking,” German Green MEP Ska Keller told this website on Monday (28 October).A commission impact assessment report, used by policy-makers to gauge the merits of a proposal, is said to have spun the best possible scenarios in its so-called ‘smart borders’ package.The commission says the package, which includes the Entry/Exit System and the Registered Travellers Programme, would cost around €1.3 billion.Building the two systems on the same technical platform could knock it down to €1.1 billion, it says.The system, which would replace the current method of having a border guard stamp a passport, would also shave several seconds off every border crossing, potentially saving millions of man-hours, says the Brussels executive.The figures are based on two separate studies by a global information technology firm called Unisys.The 2010 Unisys study included a total cost estimate with a 25 percent margin of error, positive or negative.But the commission’s assessment report published in February, based on the Unisys study, did not mention the margin of error when it cited the budget figure.The commission told this website that it did not see the need to replicate the wording of the study.“The commission's approach was to base its final cost assumptions on maximal values for each individual section of costs, to avoid to the best extent possible any budget overruns,” it said in an email.It added that the precise figure would be known only when the contracts are in place to develop the systems. It noted that the Unisys study is considered an essential accompanying document to the assessment report.Speeding up border control checks is also put forward as an argument in support of the system.
A 2008 Unisys feasibility study notes it takes about five seconds to scan four fingerprints.All ten fingers, rather than four, are to be scanned under the smart border package.But the commission, when speaking about saving millions of man hours on the two hand scans, is basing its analysis on the four fingerprint slap cited by the firm.Industry estimates put a ten print scan at around 15 seconds.“Its [European Commission] own models are absolutely flawed, it's based on four fingers and not ten, and if you use the industry best case scenario estimate on ten fingers, then the commission’s own model contradict what the commission says is going to happen,” said one of the parliament report authors at the UK-based civil rights group Statewatch.
The commission has not provided any evidence on its own to substantiate its efficiency claim, aside from the Unisys report, but intends to launch a pilot project in the near future.The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), for its part, says the commission stated aims of replacing a 'slow and unreliable' system with its finger print system do not sufficiently justify the expense and intrusions into privacy.Police want access to the future database, a proposition that the commission’s proposal does not entirely rule out.
On that basis, I interviewed him in Rome, October 17, five days after Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the Society of Saint Pius X, speaking in Kansas City, had launched a harsh attack on Pope Francis. I began by asking him to comment on that attack.
Q. Bishop Fellay has denounced Pope Francis as “a genuine modernist”, and charged that while the Church was “a disaster” before he was elected, he is making it “10,000 times worse”. What do you say to this?
A. To put it politely, I think that’s absolute rubbish! Francis said he’s a loyal son of the Church, and his record shows that. He’s very, very concerned for the day-to-day life of the people, and for those who are suffering, those not well off and those in difficult situations. He’s a completely faithful exponent of Christ’s teaching and the Church’s tradition.
Q. So people like Fellay have completely misread Pope Francis?
A. Yes, it is a gigantic misreading! In actual fact, the Lefebvrists – many of them - have misread the situation for decades. It was to Benedict’s great credit that he tried to reconcile with them, but they didn’t respond. Now the Church today accepts the Second Vatican Council. You don’t have to accept every jot and tittle of it, but it is part of Church’s life now, there’s no way around that.
Q. An Argentinean theologian, Father Carlos Galli, recently told me that he sees “the elder brother syndrome” emerging in the Church as Pope Francis goes out more and more to meet the prodigal sons. What do you say to that?
A. Well I think it is up to us elder-brothers, unlike the elder-brother in the parable, to get behind the father as he goes to meet the prodigal son. It’s our task to help him in that, to defend him.
Q. You and the other seven cardinal advisors had an unprecedented opportunity to sit and discuss with the Pope for three days on matters relating to the governance of the universal Church and the reform of the Roman Curia. What did it feel like being in that meeting?
A. I think we were all very much aware of the significance of the occasion. Nobody seems to know how long ago it is since a Pope has had such a regular group of advisors outside the Roman Curia, or what you might call a regular consistory.
In the Council of 8 Cardinals, and also in the Council of the Synod of Bishops of which I am also a member, the discussions were substantial, frank and friendly. The Pope didn’t have a great deal to say but he is a very good listener. He asked people to speak freely, he wanted us to speak our mind. He doesn’t like flattery, and I suspect he sees through it quite efficiently. We didn’t waste time; the discussions were useful and substantial, and he didn’t take offense at anything we said.
We are councilors. We are there to offer advice, and he is certainly free to accept, reject or modify it. We all realize this and we appreciate the opportunity that the Holy Father has given to us cardinals from all around the Church. I think all this will be for the long term benefit of the Church. I don’t think it is good for popes to be isolated.
Our terms of reference are brief, not highly developed. We are to talk about the governance of the universal Church and the reform of the Roman Curia. Obviously other things will come up; he mentioned the topic of marriage and family life.
Q. The 8 Cardinals will have another meeting with Pope Francis on December 3-5, and again in February 2014. One gets the impression that the Pope is pushing ahead to reach a rapid conclusion at least on the reform of the Roman Curia. Is that a correct read?
A. I think that’s a reasonable expectation, whether it will work out like that I don’t know. I think we’ll probably meet every two months, at least until the middle of next year.
It’s no secret that the cardinals in the pre-conclave meetings wanted very significant improvements in the life of the Roman Curia, and I believe that Pope Francis is completely committed to that.
Q. Do you think that with the help of the 8 cardinal advisors, Pope Francis will have a project for the reform of the Roman Curia by mid 2014?
A. Who knows? I think the Pope wants to keep the thing moving because everybody realizes it’s not good to unnecessarily prolong uncertainty and the anxiety that accompanies the uncertainty.
Q. You’re a member of both the Council of Cardinal Advisors and the Commission of 15 cardinals that oversees Vatican finances and organization. Are you confident the problems related to Vatican finances can be resolved soon?
A. Basically yes! Sometimes there’s a
slip betwixt cup and lip, but I think very good progress is being made
with the IOR – “the Vatican Bank”; very good progress is being made by
the lay committee of seven experts, which is a very competent group.
Q. What’s the bottom line in this in-depth review of Vatican finances?
A. Our aim is that business is conducted according to international norms, that there are regular annual independent audits, and that the muddle diminishes.
Q. Pope Francis has called an extraordinary synod to focus on the pastoral challenges to the family. Why?
A. He called this extraordinary synod –only the third of its kind, to emphasize the sorts of challenge there are to the family and married life just about everywhere in the world today. The statistics are quite striking. The more marriages deteriorate, the more there is marriage and family break-up and the more you are undermining the foundations for human flourishing in society. So it’s a very, very profound challenge and it shouldn’t just be taken up by the Church, it should also be taken up by governments – even if they are only concerned for the financial consequences, but obviously good governments are concerned for the human consequences too.
Q. Did Pope Francis consult the Council of 8 cardinal advisors and the Council of the Synod before calling the synod?
A. Yes, it was discussed in both places. The need for it was clear to everyone. The Pope took the decision; he’s the only one who can take the decision.
Q. He seems to have started a new synod process: he called an Extraordinary Synod on the pastoral challenges to the family for October 2014. The results of that event will be fed back to the local churches for further discussion. After that it will all come back to an Ordinary synod in 2015.
A. I think there will be a slightly different topic in 2015 but, yes, there will be a substantial overlap between the two synods.
Q. Therefore the family will feature big in both synods?
A. That’s what I anticipate.
Q. So the Pope is changing the way the synod works?
A. I’ve been on the synod council three or four times and we’ve never had a Pope come, sit down and talk with us for two half-days as Francis did. The bishops are very grateful for this and for having the chance to make their input and be heard.
Q. Does this new process give you a lot of hope?
A. Every process has to be well managed to succeed. I anticipate this will be, and whatever temporary problems there might be I think that in the middle and long term this will very much strengthen Catholic life.
Q. What most impressed you on the Assisi visit?
A. Many things were impressive but the thing that most impressed me was the Pope spending an hour with a hundred disabled young adults, youngsters, children and babies. He greeted every one of them individually, embraced or kissed and blessed every one of them, as well as their parents and carers. It was a moving and Christ-like time. Everybody was very patient, and you had the groans and the cries of the disabled kids. He’s got a great empathy for the sick and the suffering and people sense that.
Q. He went from that Institute to the room in the bishop’s residence where St Francis stripped himself. There, abandoning his prepared text, he spoke from the heart. How did that talk strike you?
A. I was very pleased to hear him say that it wasn’t just cardinals and clergy that shouldn’t be attached to ‘worldliness’, to the values of this world, it’s an obligation for all Christians.
Q. After these days of sharing with Pope Francis, what is your overriding impression of him?
A. He’s a very good man! He’s a man who practices what he preaches in terms of simplicity and poverty, and has done so for very many years. I think he’s a very good example of the old-style Jesuit - very well educated, formidable self-control, self-discipline, and a long experience in a variety of positions , and certainly prayerful. The Jesuits are not famous for liturgical niceties, but he says a beautiful, beautiful mass.
Q. Does he inspire you?
A. Yes, he does. He does, and I think he will be able to make a profound and beneficial contribution to the life of the Church.
“It’s really amazing that the commission has been so creative with figures, I find it really shocking,” German Green MEP Ska Keller told this website on Monday (28 October).A commission impact assessment report, used by policy-makers to gauge the merits of a proposal, is said to have spun the best possible scenarios in its so-called ‘smart borders’ package.The commission says the package, which includes the Entry/Exit System and the Registered Travellers Programme, would cost around €1.3 billion.Building the two systems on the same technical platform could knock it down to €1.1 billion, it says.The system, which would replace the current method of having a border guard stamp a passport, would also shave several seconds off every border crossing, potentially saving millions of man-hours, says the Brussels executive.The figures are based on two separate studies by a global information technology firm called Unisys.The 2010 Unisys study included a total cost estimate with a 25 percent margin of error, positive or negative.But the commission’s assessment report published in February, based on the Unisys study, did not mention the margin of error when it cited the budget figure.The commission told this website that it did not see the need to replicate the wording of the study.“The commission's approach was to base its final cost assumptions on maximal values for each individual section of costs, to avoid to the best extent possible any budget overruns,” it said in an email.It added that the precise figure would be known only when the contracts are in place to develop the systems. It noted that the Unisys study is considered an essential accompanying document to the assessment report.Speeding up border control checks is also put forward as an argument in support of the system.
A 2008 Unisys feasibility study notes it takes about five seconds to scan four fingerprints.All ten fingers, rather than four, are to be scanned under the smart border package.But the commission, when speaking about saving millions of man hours on the two hand scans, is basing its analysis on the four fingerprint slap cited by the firm.Industry estimates put a ten print scan at around 15 seconds.“Its [European Commission] own models are absolutely flawed, it's based on four fingers and not ten, and if you use the industry best case scenario estimate on ten fingers, then the commission’s own model contradict what the commission says is going to happen,” said one of the parliament report authors at the UK-based civil rights group Statewatch.
The commission has not provided any evidence on its own to substantiate its efficiency claim, aside from the Unisys report, but intends to launch a pilot project in the near future.The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), for its part, says the commission stated aims of replacing a 'slow and unreliable' system with its finger print system do not sufficiently justify the expense and intrusions into privacy.Police want access to the future database, a proposition that the commission’s proposal does not entirely rule out.
10/28/2013 VATICAN INSIDER
Pell dismisses traditionalist leader's attack on Pope
George Pell
In this interview the cardinal comments on the recent meeting of the Council of Cardinals with Francis, the reform of the Roman Curia, and Lefebvrist leader Bishop Fellay's attack on the Pope
gerard o'connell rome The Australian cardinal George Pell, one of the eight cardinals that Pope Francis has chosen to advice him, agreed to talk about his experience of their historic meeting (October 1-3) with the Holy Father on the understanding that “the only substantial information” available about that gathering is what Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, gave to the media. “Anything that I might say will be peripheral to that”, he said; and “as one of the Pope’s councilors, I see that part of my task is to defend and explain the Holy Father, to support him in his role”.On that basis, I interviewed him in Rome, October 17, five days after Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the Society of Saint Pius X, speaking in Kansas City, had launched a harsh attack on Pope Francis. I began by asking him to comment on that attack.
Q. Bishop Fellay has denounced Pope Francis as “a genuine modernist”, and charged that while the Church was “a disaster” before he was elected, he is making it “10,000 times worse”. What do you say to this?
A. To put it politely, I think that’s absolute rubbish! Francis said he’s a loyal son of the Church, and his record shows that. He’s very, very concerned for the day-to-day life of the people, and for those who are suffering, those not well off and those in difficult situations. He’s a completely faithful exponent of Christ’s teaching and the Church’s tradition.
Q. So people like Fellay have completely misread Pope Francis?
A. Yes, it is a gigantic misreading! In actual fact, the Lefebvrists – many of them - have misread the situation for decades. It was to Benedict’s great credit that he tried to reconcile with them, but they didn’t respond. Now the Church today accepts the Second Vatican Council. You don’t have to accept every jot and tittle of it, but it is part of Church’s life now, there’s no way around that.
Q. An Argentinean theologian, Father Carlos Galli, recently told me that he sees “the elder brother syndrome” emerging in the Church as Pope Francis goes out more and more to meet the prodigal sons. What do you say to that?
A. Well I think it is up to us elder-brothers, unlike the elder-brother in the parable, to get behind the father as he goes to meet the prodigal son. It’s our task to help him in that, to defend him.
Q. You and the other seven cardinal advisors had an unprecedented opportunity to sit and discuss with the Pope for three days on matters relating to the governance of the universal Church and the reform of the Roman Curia. What did it feel like being in that meeting?
A. I think we were all very much aware of the significance of the occasion. Nobody seems to know how long ago it is since a Pope has had such a regular group of advisors outside the Roman Curia, or what you might call a regular consistory.
In the Council of 8 Cardinals, and also in the Council of the Synod of Bishops of which I am also a member, the discussions were substantial, frank and friendly. The Pope didn’t have a great deal to say but he is a very good listener. He asked people to speak freely, he wanted us to speak our mind. He doesn’t like flattery, and I suspect he sees through it quite efficiently. We didn’t waste time; the discussions were useful and substantial, and he didn’t take offense at anything we said.
We are councilors. We are there to offer advice, and he is certainly free to accept, reject or modify it. We all realize this and we appreciate the opportunity that the Holy Father has given to us cardinals from all around the Church. I think all this will be for the long term benefit of the Church. I don’t think it is good for popes to be isolated.
Our terms of reference are brief, not highly developed. We are to talk about the governance of the universal Church and the reform of the Roman Curia. Obviously other things will come up; he mentioned the topic of marriage and family life.
Q. The 8 Cardinals will have another meeting with Pope Francis on December 3-5, and again in February 2014. One gets the impression that the Pope is pushing ahead to reach a rapid conclusion at least on the reform of the Roman Curia. Is that a correct read?
A. I think that’s a reasonable expectation, whether it will work out like that I don’t know. I think we’ll probably meet every two months, at least until the middle of next year.
It’s no secret that the cardinals in the pre-conclave meetings wanted very significant improvements in the life of the Roman Curia, and I believe that Pope Francis is completely committed to that.
Q. Do you think that with the help of the 8 cardinal advisors, Pope Francis will have a project for the reform of the Roman Curia by mid 2014?
A. Who knows? I think the Pope wants to keep the thing moving because everybody realizes it’s not good to unnecessarily prolong uncertainty and the anxiety that accompanies the uncertainty.
Q. You’re a member of both the Council of Cardinal Advisors and the Commission of 15 cardinals that oversees Vatican finances and organization. Are you confident the problems related to Vatican finances can be resolved soon?
Q. What’s the bottom line in this in-depth review of Vatican finances?
A. Our aim is that business is conducted according to international norms, that there are regular annual independent audits, and that the muddle diminishes.
Q. Pope Francis has called an extraordinary synod to focus on the pastoral challenges to the family. Why?
A. He called this extraordinary synod –only the third of its kind, to emphasize the sorts of challenge there are to the family and married life just about everywhere in the world today. The statistics are quite striking. The more marriages deteriorate, the more there is marriage and family break-up and the more you are undermining the foundations for human flourishing in society. So it’s a very, very profound challenge and it shouldn’t just be taken up by the Church, it should also be taken up by governments – even if they are only concerned for the financial consequences, but obviously good governments are concerned for the human consequences too.
Q. Did Pope Francis consult the Council of 8 cardinal advisors and the Council of the Synod before calling the synod?
A. Yes, it was discussed in both places. The need for it was clear to everyone. The Pope took the decision; he’s the only one who can take the decision.
Q. He seems to have started a new synod process: he called an Extraordinary Synod on the pastoral challenges to the family for October 2014. The results of that event will be fed back to the local churches for further discussion. After that it will all come back to an Ordinary synod in 2015.
A. I think there will be a slightly different topic in 2015 but, yes, there will be a substantial overlap between the two synods.
Q. Therefore the family will feature big in both synods?
A. That’s what I anticipate.
Q. So the Pope is changing the way the synod works?
A. I’ve been on the synod council three or four times and we’ve never had a Pope come, sit down and talk with us for two half-days as Francis did. The bishops are very grateful for this and for having the chance to make their input and be heard.
Q. Does this new process give you a lot of hope?
A. Every process has to be well managed to succeed. I anticipate this will be, and whatever temporary problems there might be I think that in the middle and long term this will very much strengthen Catholic life.
Q. What most impressed you on the Assisi visit?
A. Many things were impressive but the thing that most impressed me was the Pope spending an hour with a hundred disabled young adults, youngsters, children and babies. He greeted every one of them individually, embraced or kissed and blessed every one of them, as well as their parents and carers. It was a moving and Christ-like time. Everybody was very patient, and you had the groans and the cries of the disabled kids. He’s got a great empathy for the sick and the suffering and people sense that.
Q. He went from that Institute to the room in the bishop’s residence where St Francis stripped himself. There, abandoning his prepared text, he spoke from the heart. How did that talk strike you?
A. I was very pleased to hear him say that it wasn’t just cardinals and clergy that shouldn’t be attached to ‘worldliness’, to the values of this world, it’s an obligation for all Christians.
Q. After these days of sharing with Pope Francis, what is your overriding impression of him?
A. He’s a very good man! He’s a man who practices what he preaches in terms of simplicity and poverty, and has done so for very many years. I think he’s a very good example of the old-style Jesuit - very well educated, formidable self-control, self-discipline, and a long experience in a variety of positions , and certainly prayerful. The Jesuits are not famous for liturgical niceties, but he says a beautiful, beautiful mass.
Q. Does he inspire you?
A. Yes, he does. He does, and I think he will be able to make a profound and beneficial contribution to the life of the Church.
