The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera gives excerpts from Don Marco Pozza’s new interview with Pope Francis, in which he examines how doubts and crises of faith lead us deeper into the secret of God.
By Vatican News
“Of Vices and Virtues” (published by Rizzoli) is the title of Don Marco Pozza’s new book interview with Pope Francis, which appears on March 2.
Several sections of the book were published by the Italian newspaper on Sunday Corriere della Sera.
Anger and bullying
In one part of the interview, the pope describes anger and the path to healing anger.
‘[Anger] is a storm whose purpose is to destroy. One example is the bullying that occurs among young people. (…) Bullying occurs when, instead of trying to understand one’s own identity, the identity of others diminishes and attacks. When episodes of aggression and bullying occur in youth groups, schools and among neighbors, we see the poverty of the identity of the attacker. The only way to heal from bullying is to share, live together, engage in dialogue, listen to others and take time apart, because only time can build a relationship. ”
God’s cleansing wrath
Pope Francis continues God’s wrath.
He remembers that Divine wrath “is not directed at evil, not at human weakness, but at the evil of satanic inspiration. (…) The wrath of God wants to bring justice and ‘purify’. The Flood is the result of God’s wrath, according to the Bible. ”
The pope explains that according to some experts, the flood is “a mythical story”. But according to archaeologists, it is instead “a historical event because traces of a flood were found in their excavations.” Pope Francis warns against taking care of creation and says that we are daring a new ‘flood’.
Common sense in government
As for wisdom, the pope calls it ‘the virtue of government’.
“It is impossible to govern without prudence. On the contrary, everyone who rules without caution rules badly. They do bad things and make bad decisions that always destroy people. ‘
But prudence in government, he says, “sometimes must not be balanced in making decisions that bring about change.”
Faith and doubt
Finally, Pope Francis speaks of faith being tested by doubt.
“The devil casts doubt on us, then life happens with its tragedies: ‘Why does God allow this? ‘But a faith without a doubt can not advance. (…) The thought of being forsaken by God is a faith experience that many saints have experienced, along with many people who today feel abandoned by God but do not lose faith. They make the gift watch: ‘At the moment I do not feel anything, but I hold on to the gift of faith. The Christian who has never been through these moods has something short of it because it means they have decided on less money. Faith crises are not failures against faith. On the contrary, they reveal the need and desire to go deeper into the depths of the mystery of God. A faith without these trials makes me doubt whether it is true faith. ‘