Cardinal Bertone Focuses on Pope's US Trip

(09 Apr 08 - RV)The Vatican Secretary of State has held an interview with Fox News Channel about Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming journey to the United States.

The question and answer session with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone lasted over an hour and touched on issues at the heart of Pope Benedict’s papacy to date, such as inter-religious dialogue and education. But it also looked at Vatican relations with the United States and as well as the Holy Father’s upcoming speech to the United Nations, in New York.

Cardinal Bertone noted “the Holy See and Washington share many common viewpoints. For example the sense of the value of religion, not only in private life but also in public life”. He commented that “religion is a deep rooted fact in American way of life, which is not the case in many European countries”.

The Cardinal said that another point of accord is defence of fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and protection of the family based on marriage between man and woman.
Describing the United States as a mosaic of peoples, Cardinal Bertone added that “both the Holy See and the United States are promoters of peaceful coexistence between religions and cultures”.
On other issues, added the Cardinal, there remains a “difference of opinion. While both support and promote democracy, the methods used to ensure democracy are diverse. For the Holy See, the only method is dialogue, even if it requires a lot of patience, because in the long term dialogue is the most effective means of ensuring democracy”.

Cardinal Bertone also addressed the issue of the child sex abuse scandal which has rocked the Church in the United States. Contrary to some media reports to date, the Cardinal said that Pope Benedict will address this problem, which he described as an “open wound”, during his address to priests in New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral on April 19^th. The Cardinal reiterated that abuse of a child is a “flagrant contradiction to the teachings of the faith” and a “scourge”, which even if a minority of priests are responsible for, is “felt by the Church in the entire world”. During his address, concluded Cardinal Bertone, Pope Benedict "will invite the entire Church, priests and lay faithful, to reconciliation , so a future of justice, reciprocal trust and healing may begin for the Church in the United States.