Pope Francis: The People’s Pope
And that’s why – you can do that on the ground as one thing. But, also, you need the ethics, the morality of it. And somebody like Pope Francis is able to speak so well and so eloquently because he doesn’t just talk about doing good, but he actually puts good into practice, which is really impressive.
Christopher Buck: He does. We are such huge fans of Pope Francis. The man has been, pardon the expression, a Godsend for so many issues and problems that are facing the world today. And it’s such a blessing to be able to speak to you about this man that we so respect and admire.
I’ve got one more question about his background in South America, and that is, what is Pope Francis’ position on the Theology of Liberation?
Father Collins: Oh, that’s very interesting. Now, the Theology of Liberation really, I suppose, in a nutshell is an understanding that the bond theology, kind of empower people to get themselves out of their own problems. So, you don’t wait for somebody to come in and solve your issues, you do it yourself.
And in the 1970s, ’80s, there was a lot of kind of mixing that up with communism. And Pope John Paul was very nervous about that. He wasn’t happy with this development of Liberation Theology at first, although he changed his mind. In the second half of his life, he said, well, you know, I can see.
Francis is very, very keen on it, and he would see the theology of liberation – I hope I can speak for him – as really a liberation from evil institutions, which have to be broken. So, in that sense, I think liberation theology itself has actually developed and grown and matured over the last 30 or 40 years to being something which is a really good contribution to society.
Christopher Buck: I know my wife Liane will be very interested and excited to hear that because she was a student of Liberation Theology when she was working with the Jesuits in Brazil.
