The pope is not worried in
the least about a letter written by Carlo Maria Viganò, the
former top Vatican diplomat in the United States, which said
Francis should step down for allegedly covering up a top US
bishop's sex abuse, said a top Catholic cleric.
Italian Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, leader of the Italian
Bishops' Conference (CEI), was quoted by the Corriere Fiorentino
as saying that "I met with the Holy Father recently and he
seemed very calm. When faced with any sort of adversity, the
pope reacts by saying that 'the important thing is to do what
the Gospels ask of us'. On this case, Pope Francis's words were
stupendous: 'Silence and prayer with those seeking scandal'. I
do mine and I call on all the Italian Church to do the same."
On the issue of the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti and the
risk of division within the Church on the immigration issue,
Bassetti said that "we will not pull back" and, "the Church,
from its very origins, takes care of travellers and migrants:
this is an evangelical mission" and "certainly not a political
project to assess using a poll".
"The Church has no political interests and even fewer ones as
concerns the government," he said, adding about those exploiting
migrant reception that "every injustice will be punished" but
that "the rhetoric of the migrant business doesn't interest me
much".
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