Pope 'not worried' about Viganò

(ANSA) - Florence, September 4 - 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".