Francis to Scalfari: "Don't Convert" -- Benigni on the Duo: "Revolutionaries See Themselves as the Same"

(Rome) Eugenio Scalfari, the founder and former chief editor of the daily newspaper La Repubblica, the only daily newspaper that Pope Francis reads daily, according to his own statement, insists:  remarried divorcees will be re-admitted to the sacraments. This was written by an avowed atheist from a family with an old Masonic tradition and a doyen of left journalism in Italy on Sunday in his column.

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Due to some highly controversial interviews that he  conducted with Pope Francis, Scalfari created the aura of around himself of a "secular friend of the pope" and even as the "secular voice of the Pope". From the front page of Repubblica  Scalfari announced how Pope Francis wants to "change" the Church. "Pope Francis: So I'm going to change the Church," this  headline was aired on 1 October 2013 when the first Scalfari interview with the Pope was printed.

Scalfaris Column: "Remarried divorcees are to be admitted to communion"

Am. 1 November 2015 Scalfari wrote few days after the end of the hotly debated Synod on the family, that the Pope had called him and announced to him: "All remarried divorcees are able to receive Holy Communion." Then this was followed up by his column yesterday.

In it he took among other things, a position on the Church's teaching in the  "gay marriage" debate  and told his readers why Pope Francis could not enforce his program so quickly and completely:

"Of course, Francis must, as has already happened in the synodal discussions on the issue of remarried divorcees,  those who want the re-admission to the sacraments, must seek  for (temporary) compromise solutions in order to preserve the unity of the Synodal Church.

The compromise on the subject of the sacraments for remarried divorcees was, for the bishops and the confessors commissioned by them,  to transfer the decision as to whether the petitioner can be accepted back or not. In this way, the door for the re-admission was half open, case by case.  However, for those who want it - should  they have received a negative opinion from the confessor - it is always possible to petition again after a certain time of penance, and it is also possible, but it is then even more certain that this second application will be accepted.

At this stage - as we know - the tension between the Pope and the Curia has reached its maximum, which means that Francis must hold together the largest possible majority of the episcopate, which preferably includes a pastoral action and in this way represents the missionary Church willed by Francis. That  comprehensively explains the compromise when it comes to marriage and civil unions."

As far as Scalfari in his column of January 24 goes,   an atheist goes into amazing detail about the Catholic Church, whose sacraments and even access to these is of great interest.

Ambivalent attitude of the Vatican: half-hearted denials

Scalfari perpetuates the stereotype of the "good" Pope, who is hindered by a "bad" Curia from implementing his reform program, because he has had to take consideration so as not to jeopardize the unity of the Church. Scalfari thus explains  the audience that even in the church majorities first would have to be found and could proceed only gradually. In addition, his emphasis on the "synodal church" is an appeal, with which his signals for a new church.

Pope Francis has granted Scalfari several interviews, whose contents were concocted according to the   free admission of the La Repubblica founder. Since then, there is talk of a "Scalfari Magisterium". The reactions were ambivalent. On one hand, the Vatican press-service respectively denied  the content, without offering any real clarification. On the other hand  Pope Francis resolutely confirms  the talks. The controversial interviews were even included in an anthology of interviews with the Pope  and published by the Vatican Publishing.  A serious distancing looks different.

Scalfari's anecdotes and Begninis: "Revolutionaries are see themselves as the same"

Eugenio Scalfari meanwhile enjoys having an "excellent feeling" for the Pope, he said at the 40th anniversary celebration of La Repubblica, which was celebrated last January 14th. On this occasion Scalfari explained that  Pope Francis had asked him  "not to convert", as the Pope said, he did not know  where he would otherwise find another unbeliever like him with whom he could talk and get new stimuli. "This amused the applauding crowd," is how La Notizia described the scene.

Scalfari sat at the launch of the interview book by Andreas Tornielli and Pope Francis at the Vatican as a guest of honor in the front row. The presentation was made by the wildly popular Italian  actor and comedian Roberto Benigni, who ensured maximum ratings and sympathy. Benigni said, in his usual burlesque manner of  presentation that he even "likes this pope, but very very" and one "can not respond well to a moderate type: either you talk good about him or nothing," about this Pope.  Pope Francis "is a revolutionary, as he has been called  by Eugenio Scalfari, who is also a revolutionary. Revolutionaries see themselves as the same," said Benigni.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: UCCR
Video: La Repubblica (mit Werbevorspann, der nicht ausgeschaltet werden kann)

Trans: Tancred verkon99@hotmail.com

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