Recent and ongoing acts of
anti-semitism in Europe are a "shame", Pope Francis has said in
his autobiography, excerpts of which ANSA has been able to see.
"Think, for example, of the acts of violence by some fanatics,
the desecrated Jewish tombs or the houses branded with the Star
of David in several European countries after the outbreak of the
new conflict in the Middle East in October 2023," Francis says
in 'Life. My story in history', the autobiography written with
Mediaset's Vaticanist Fabio Marchese Ragona, to be published on
19 March by HarperCollins in Italy and in 20 other countries
around the world.
"It is a disgrace, especially since it is often young people who
are involved!
"As if they did not understand what the Shoah was!".
The pope also dismissed reports that he was thinking of
reforming the conclave, the assembly of cardinals that elects
popes.
"On the subject of the Conclave, some American media have
circulated the news that I have in mind to change the rules,
admitting to the vote for the election of the new Pope also nuns
and lay people: these are all fantasies, inventions put about
evidently to create discontent in the Church and disorientation
in the faithful", says Francis in Life.
Pope Francis also touches on the enduring mystery of the
disappearance of 15-year-old Vatican citizen Emanuela Orlandi on
her way to a music lesson on June 22 1983 in the book.
"In the Vatican we still suffer so much for the disappearance,
more than forty years ago, of one of our citizens, Emanuela
Orlandi, who was fifteen years old at the time," says Francis.
"I continue to pray for her and her family, especially her
mother. "There is an inquiry open in the Vatican, so that light
can be shed on this story and the truth can emerge.
"Speaking of Emanuela, however, I want all those families who
mourn the passing of a loved one to feel my closeness. I am
close to them," the Pontiff says.
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