(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday met with Representatives of the Communications
Media on Saturday. Below is an English translation of his full text:
Dear
Friends,
At the beginning of my ministry in the See of Peter, I am pleased
to meet all of you who have worked here in Rome throughout this intense period which
began with the unexpected announcement made by my venerable Predecessor Benedict XVI
on 11 February last. To each of you I offer a cordial greeting.
The role
of the mass media has expanded immensely in these years, so much so that they are
an essential means of informing the world about the events of contemporary history.
I would like, then, to thank you in a special way for the professional coverage which
you provided during these days – you really worked, didn’t you? – when the eyes of
the whole world, and not just those of Catholics, were turned to the Eternal City
and particularly to this place which has as its heart the tomb of Saint Peter. Over
the past few weeks, you have had to provide information about the Holy See and about
the Church, her rituals and traditions, her faith and above all the role of the Pope
and his ministry.
I am particularly grateful to those who viewed and presented
these events of the Church’s history in a way which was sensitive to the right context
in which they need to be read, namely that of faith. Historical events almost always
demand a nuanced interpretation which at times can also take into account the dimension
of faith. Ecclesial events are certainly no more intricate than political or economic
events! But they do have one particular underlying feature: they follow a pattern
which does not readily correspond to the “worldly” categories which we are accustomed
to use, and so it is not easy to interpret and communicate them to a wider and more
varied public. The Church is certainly a human and historical institution with all
that that entails, yet her nature is not essentially political but spiritual: the
Church is the People of God, the Holy People of God making its way to encounter Jesus
Christ. Only from this perspective can a satisfactory account be given of the Church’s
life and activity.
Christ is the Church’s Pastor, but his presence in history
passes through the freedom of human beings; from their midst one is chosen to serve
as his Vicar, the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Yet Christ remains the centre,
not the Successor of Peter: Christ, Christ is the centre. Christ is the fundamental
point of reference, the heart of the Church. Without him, Peter and the Church would
not exist or have reason to exist. As Benedict XVI frequently reminded us, Christ
is present in Church and guides her. In everything that has occurred, the principal
agent has been, in the final analysis, the Holy Spirit. He prompted the decision
of Benedict XVI for the good of the Church; he guided the Cardinals in prayer and
in the election.
It is important, dear friends, to take into due account this
way of looking at things, this hermeneutic, in order to bring into proper focus what
really happened in these days.
All of this leads me to thank you once more
for your work in these particularly demanding days, but also to ask you to try to
understand more fully the true nature of the Church, as well as her journey in this
world, with her virtues and her sins, and to know the spiritual concerns which guide
her and are the most genuine way to understand her. Be assured that the Church, for
her part, highly esteems your important work. At your disposal you have the means
to hear and to give voice to people’s expectations and demands, and to provide for
an analysis and interpretation of current events. Your work calls for careful preparation,
sensitivity and experience, like so many other professions, but it also demands a
particular concern for what is true, good and beautiful. This is something which
we have in common, since the Church exists to communicate precisely this: Truth, Goodness
and Beauty “in person”. It should be apparent that all of us are called not to communicate
ourselves, but this existential triad made up of truth, beauty and goodness.
Some
people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought
of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of Assisi. I will tell you
the story. During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São
Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes:
a good friend, a good friend! When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me.
And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope
had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: “Don't forget the poor!”
And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the
poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes
were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is
how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty,
the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have
a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit
of peace, the poor man … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!
Afterwards, people were joking with me. “But you should call yourself Hadrian, because
Hadrian VI was the reformer, we need a reform…” And someone else said to me: “No,
no: your name should be Clement”. “But why?” “Clement XV: thus you pay back Clement
XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus!” These were jokes. I love all of you very
much, I thank you for everything you have done. I pray that your work will always
be serene and fruitful, and that you will come to know ever better the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and the rich reality of the Church’s life. I commend you to the intercession
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization, and with cordial good wishes for
you and your families, each of your families. I cordially impart to all of you my
blessing. Thank you.
I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since
many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers,
I cordially give this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience
of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you!