The Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica has published the full transcript of Pope Francis’s conversation with Jesuits during his apostolic journey to Portugal. During the conversation, the Pope ripped “reactionary” American Catholics.
As he fielded questions, the Pontiff also criticized the “rigid” formation to which he believed Jesuits were subjected in the early and mid-1900s, as well as the “curial censorship” that he said took place at the Synod of Bishops in 2001, under the leadership of Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte, then Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops.
Addressing a question on ministry to college students who are “very committed to the Church” but reject Catholic teaching on the immorality of homosexual activity, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of welcoming everyone and then accompanying them.
The Pontiff also discussed worldliness, pornography, and the importance of a daily examination of conscience. He paid particular tribute to the Servant of God Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, who led the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983.