VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Less than two weeks shy of one year on from his election as bishop of Rome, Pope Francis describes himself as, “A man who laughs, cries, sleeps well and has friends like everyone else.” It is the self-description the Holy Father offered to the editor-in-chief of the Italian daily, Corriere della sera, Ferruccio De Bortoli, in an interview appearing in the paper’s Wednesday, March 5th edition.
The Pope’s wide-ranging conversation with the veteran journalist covers themes from bioethics, to styles and modes of Church governance, to his friendship with and esteem for his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI.
Some of the strongest remarks concerned the role of women in the Church. “It is true that women can and ought to be more present in the places where the Church’s decisions are made. This, however, I would call a promotion of a ‘functional’ type. Only, in this way, we do not get very far: We need to consider that the Church takes the feminine article,” he said, “She is feminine in her very origins (It. dalle origini).”
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