12
IN THE CHURCH
August 20, 2019 | The Valley Catholic
In New Interview, Pope Explains Aim of Synod, Warns Against Nationalism
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY -- The upcoming
Synod of Bishops on the Amazon is an
“urgent” gathering, not of scientists
and politicians, but for the church,
whose main focus in discussions will
be evangelization, Pope Francis said in
a new interview.
However, the importance of the Am-
azon region’s biodiversity and current
threats it faces also will be addressed
because “together with the oceans,
(the Amazon) contributes decisively to
the survival of the planet. Much of the
oxygen we breathe comes from there.
That’s why deforestation means killing
humanity,” he said.
The pope also talked about the
dangers of surging nationalism and
isolationist sentiments, saying, “I am
worried because you hear speeches that
resemble those by Hitler in 1934. ‘Us
first, We... We ....’”
Such thinking, he said, “is frighten-
ing.”
The pope’s comments came in an
interview posted August 9 by “Vatican
Insider,” the online news supplement to
the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Asked about the dangers of “sover-
eignism” or nationalism, the pope said
it represented an attitude of “isolation”
and closure.
“A country must be sovereign, but
not closed” inside itself, he said.
National sovereignty, he said, “must
be defended, but relations with other
countries, with the European com-
munity, must also be protected and
promoted.”
“Sovereignism,” on the other hand,
he continued, is something that goes
“too far” and “always ends badly -- it
leads to war.”
When asked about populism, the
pope said it was one thing for people
to be able to express their concerns, but
quite another “to impose a populist at-
titude on the people.”
“The people are sovereign,” with
their own way of thinking, feeling,
judging and expressing themselves, he
said, “while populism leads to forms
of sovereignism. That suffix, ‘--ism,’ is
never good.”
Asked about “the right path to take
when it comes to migrants,” the pope
said, “First and foremost, never neglect
the most important right of all: the right
to life.”
“Immigrants come above all to
escape from war or hunger, from the
Middle East and Africa,” he said.
When it comes to war, “we must
make an effort and fight for peace” as
well as invest in Africa in ways that help
the people there “resolve their problems
and thus stop the migration flows.”
Concerning immigrants already in
Italian American Heritage Foundation
proudly presents the
ITALIAN FAMILY FESTA
August 24 & 25 History
Park San Jose
WINE TASTING
MUSIC
JOIN US FOR MASS
SAT 11-8pm
one’s home country, certain “criteria
must be followed,” he said.
“First, to receive, which is also a
Christian, Gospel duty. Doors should
be opened, not closed. Second, to ac-
company. Third, to promote. Fourth, to
integrate” the newcomers in the host
communities, he said.
“At the same time, governments
must think and act prudently, which is
a virtue of government. Those in charge
are called to think about how many
migrants can be taken in.”
If that threshold is reached, “the
situation can be resolved through dia-
logue with other countries” because
some countries need people, especially
Evening
Under the Stars
CULTURE
AUG 25 @ 10:00
FREE ADMISSION
Pope Francis is greeted by a member of an
indigenous group from the Amazon region
during a meeting at the Coliseo Regional
Madre de Dios in Puerto Maldonado, Peru,
Jan.19, 2018. The upcoming Synod of Bish-
ops on the Amazon is an “urgent” gathering,
not of scientists and politicians, but for the
church whose main focus in discussions
will be evangelization, Pope Francis said
in a new interview. (CNS photo/Alessandro
Bianchi, Reuters)
for working in agriculture or for reviv-
ing their economy and breathing new
life into “half-empty towns” because
of low birthrates, he said.
When asked why he convened a
synod on the Amazon, Pope Francis
said, “It is the ‘child’ of Laudato Sí.’
Those who have not read it will never
understand the Synod on the Amazon.
Laudato Sí is not a green encyclical, it
is a social encyclical, which is based
on a ‘green’ reality, the safeguarding
of creation.”
Among the environmental issues
the pope is concerned about, the one
that “has shocked me the most,” he
said, is the way resources are increas-
ingly being consumed faster than they
can be regenerated.
“It’s very serious. It’s a global emer-
gency,” he said, highlighting that “Earth
Overshoot Day” fell this year on July 29
-- the day when resource consumption
goes into “debt” because the annual de-
mand on nature exceeds what the earth
can regenerate in that year.
The seriousness of the problem
means “ours will be an urgent synod.
But beware: a synod is not a meeting of
scientists or politicians. It is not a par-
liament; it is something else,” he said.
The synod “is born” from the church
“and will have an evangelizing mission
and dimension. It will be a work of
communion guided by the Holy Spirit,”
the pope said.
Pope Francis was asked whether the
possibility of ordaining older, married
men to minister in remote areas would
be one of the main topics of discussion.
The pope replied, “Absolutely not. It is
simply one number” in the working
document.
The 45-page working document,
which serves as a guide for discussions,
contains 146 numbered items, outlining
various topics.
SUN 11-6pm
italianfamilyfestasj.org | 408.293.7122 | @italianfestasj
September 28, 2019
Dinner, Dancing & Auctions
at San Damiano Retreat
Buy tickets today at
www.sandamiano.org
925.837.9141