In that brief inter-mezzo over the summer between what turned out to be the first and second great surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis held a series of appropriately socially distanced, “vir-tual” conversations with his premier English-language explicator about what he believes needs to be done for the world to be better than it was before the crisis.
Through conversations held on the phone, through voice recordings and via email, Francis answered questions posed to him by British biographer Austen Ivereigh on a wide range of issues, including the death of George Floyd; clerical sexual abuse; the toppling of statues in an effort to reshape perceptions of history; protests against government coronavirus restrictions; persecuted minorities such as Christians, Yazidi, Rohingya and Uighurs; migrants and refugees; and, though the book notes “many will be irritated to hear a Pope return to the topic,” Francis discussed abortion at length too.
“I cannot stay silent over 30 to 40 million unborn lives cast aside every year through abortion,” the Pope said. “It is painful to behold how in many regions that see themselves as developed the practice is often urged because the children to come are disabled, or unplanned. Human life is never a burden.”
The Pope’s comments are included in an interview book he authored with Ivereigh, titled Let us Dream, which will hit bookstores and online shops on Dec. 1. Crux, along with other news outlets, received an advance copy.
On abuse, both sexual and abuses of power, Francis noted that social distancing has made some potential victims more susceptible to online grooming and other abuses which, as a community, “we should be watching out for and reporting.”
“In these past years, thank God, we have seen a particular awareness of these issues,” he said. “The culture of abuse, whether sexual or of power and conscience, began to be dismantled first by victims and their families, who in spite of their pain, were able to carry through their struggle for justice and help alert and heal society of this perversity.”
Francis added he “will not tire of saying with sorrow and shame, these abuses were also committed by some members of the Church.”
“In these past years we have taken important steps to stamp out abuse and to engender a culture of care to respond swiftly to accusations,” the Pope said. “Creating that culture will take time, but it is an unavoidable commitment which we must make every effort to insist on.”
Society too, Francis argued, has awaken against abuse, either through the #MeToo movement, or the many scandals “around powerful politicians, media moguls and businessmen.”