Pope Francis: The People’s Pope
The Pope has been in Central America recently, and he’s made news for his apologies for actions and crimes against the indigenous people of the Americas during the colonial period. Is this apology just a balm to help the healing of the people, or does Pope Francis plan an increase in the Catholic church’s outreaches to help empower indigenous people who are often still disenfranchised?
Father Collins: Well, I suppose–I imagine, yes, that he wants to continue working in this area. As I said earlier, I think he’s very intuitive. He’s traveled a good deal within Latin America, although before his election, he didn’t travel a lot outside Latin America. So, he’s got a really good finger and feel of the post.
But, it does bring you to another interesting point, and that is that not everybody is a fan of Pope Francis. There would be many people who’d say he’s going far too far and far too quickly in the direction that he wants to go. And a lot of people will be quite nervous about that and say, well, look, indigenous people, we’re working on the ground, and why does the Pope need to get involved in something which is so local.
And that’s true. When he went to Latin America a few days ago, he had that issue. A lot of the local groups in Bolivia and Paraguay, they wanted to get him involved in local wars, if you like, or local issues. He can’t do that. You know, he can’t get involved in local politics. So, he has to try and rise above that.
But, yeah, you’re right. Something like the indigenous people and their rights is something that he’s going to take up a level and, you know, try and make the whole world aware of it.
Christopher Buck: You mentioned that not everybody likes the Pope Francis’s activism. I know there’s been some grumblings with the American Council of Bishops that the Pope should stay out of politics. Of course, the American Council of Bishops is often embroiled in politics here in this country.
