“The most serious of the evils that afflict the world these days are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old. The old need care and companionship; the young need work and hope but have neither one nor the other, and the problem is they don’t even look for them any more. They have been crushed by the present.”
“Leaders of the Church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy.”
“Narcissism …indicates an excessive love for oneself and this is not good, it can produce serious damage not only to the soul of those affected but also in relationship with others, with the society in which one lives. The real trouble is that those most affected by this – which is actually a kind of mental disorder – are people who have a lot of power. Often bosses are narcissists”
“This Vatican-centric view [of the Roman Curia] neglects the world around us. I do not share this view and I’ll do everything I can to change it. The Church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people, and priests, pastors and bishops who have the care of souls, are at the service of the people of God.”
“It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity. St. Paul, who was the first to speak to the Gentiles, the pagans, to believers in other religions, was the first to teach us that.”
“A religion without mystics is a philosophy.”
“We will also discuss the role of women in the Church. Remember that the Church (la chiesa) is feminine.”
Commentary explaining problems with the interview here. Turns out the interview was not recorded or notes taken, but the result of the recollection of the 89-year old Scalfari. The tone of the text, the spirit of the interview if you will, is confirmed as accurate by the Vatican, though the details and vocabulary – and the translation- need to be taken with a grain of salt. As is to be expected with Italian journalism. The contrast in the quality of the interview with the one given to the Jesuits last week is striking. The readiness of some supposedly Catholic commentators to throw the bishop of Rome under the bus because of mistranslations or misremembered timelines – even without trying to find the original first it seems – is the most shocking aspect of all, however.
The Ecumenism Blog 