Pope Francis was in favor of introducing psychological itineraries in the seminars that prepare future priests as a method to prevent sexual abuse of minors.
“In my opinion, it is very useful. For all that has happened; clergy sexual abuse of minors has dramatically highlighted this problem. It is necessary to know, before priestly ordination, if there are inclinations to abuse”, the Pope assessed in a conversation with the Italian psychotherapist Salvo Noè who prefaces the book Fear as a gift, from the San Pablo publishing house and which will be published this Tuesday.
For Francisco, if they are not recognized, these problems can have “devastating” effects. In the same way, he appreciated that the seminary is not “a refuge” for the “many limitations” that people may have, nor for “psychological deficiencies.”
“Along with the other teachings and spiritual paths, having a psychologist as a guide in personal maturation can be helpful. All this to understand the aspect of human and Christian maturity and Christian maturity and possible problems of a psychological nature,” the Pope said in the interview.
In the text of the book, Francis revealed that he had met priests in the past who “were not very convinced of his choice.” For the Pontiff, the formation of priests must activate “awareness of vocation”. “It is better to lose a vocation than to take a risk with an insecure candidate,” he considered.
The Pope also spoke of the difficulties of families, which in his opinion are always overcome “with love.” “Certainly there is no such thing as the perfect family, there is no such thing as the perfect spouse, the perfect parent or the perfect child, but rather people who, through love and good communication, can always find a Christian way of coping with difficult times,” he said. .
homosexual
In addition, in the book, the Pope urged not to “judge” or “marginalize” homosexuals following assuring that God’s style is “closeness, mercy and tenderness.”
“God is Father and does not deny any of his children. And God’s style is closeness, mercy and tenderness. Don’t judge and marginalize. God approaches each of his children with love, each and every one of them. His heart is open to each and every one. He is Father. Love does not divide, but unites, ”he assured.
In the book, Francis recounted his feelings during these years of his pontificate, beginning with his election in the Conclave, and revealed that he too is sometimes “afraid” of being wrong, but considered that “excessive fear is not Christian.”
“Excessive fear is an attitude that hurts us, weakens us, shrinks us, paralyzes us. So much so that a person enslaved by fear does not move, he does not know what to do: he is fearful, focused on himself, waiting for something bad to happen. So fear leads to an attitude that paralyzes,” she observed.
immigrants
In addition, he also reflected on issues such as the reception of immigrants or hypocrisy. For the Pope, hypocrisy in the Church is “particularly detestable”, although he recognized that there are many hypocritical Christians and ministers.
Along with this, the Pontiff denounced that migrants are used to scare people, to make them believe that “problems” come from there. “Our problems arise from the lack of high values, from the disordered way of living in our homes and in our cities, from the emptiness of faith that distances us from each other and does not allow us to fraternity,” he assured.
Thus, he urged the creation of meeting spaces with “foreigners who knock on the doors” of Western countries because they offer “the possibility of overcoming” fears to “find welcome and assist Jesus in person.”