Thursday, September 22, 2011

Fr Lombardi SJ: Pope is 'at home' in Germany

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.