Pope calls for less “Vatican-centric,” more socially conscious church
(CNS/Paul Haring)
By Francis X. Rocca
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his latest wide-ranging interview, Pope Francis said that he aimed to make the Catholic Church less “Vatican-centric” and closer to the “people of God,” as well as more socially conscious and open to modern culture.
He also revealed that he briefly considered turning down the papacy in the moments following his election last March, and identified the “most urgent problem” the church should address today as youth unemployment and the abandonment of elderly people.
The pope’s remarks appeared in a 4,500-word interview, published Oct. 1 in the Rome daily La Republica, with Eugenio Scalfari, a co-founder and former editor-in-chief of the newspaper.
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