The director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, spoke with Veronica Scarisbrick in Germany about his impressions of the beginning of Pope Benedict XVI's 4-day visit.
Fr. Lombardi SJ: My impression is very good. I think that the Pope is really happy with the way he has been received in Berlin by the highest authorities of the republic: the President and the Prime Minister.
The Pope is German. He has German roots, German culture, a German way of thinking – and in this sense, I think he has the feeling of being at home. I [also] hope that the people here can feel that he is at home.
The people here desire to show him that they welcome him [here] in his home with kindness, with attention to what he has to say – and the speech of the President was very good in this sense.
Veronica Scarisbrick: It was very consistent with the way Germans think, no?
Fr. Lombardi SJ: Yes, exactly: to say the thing with clarity and with decision, not to put problems aside.
Veronica Scarisbrick: He tackled even the fact that people are being separated and how the Church has always taken care of people in general…
Fr. Lombardi SJ: Yes, naturally. But, the Pope also spoke on the plane about the reasons people are [leaving the Church]. Some are going away [because of] scandals, and some others [leave] because, step by step, they lose their familiarity with the Church. There are many different causes, and the Pope desires to give the sense of the [concern] of the Church for all.