VATICAN CITY
NBC News
Pope Francis has vowed to change the mindset of the Roman Catholic church, saying that the institution “must return to being a community of the people of God” and rethink the relationship between its leaders and the laity.
“Leaders of the Church have often been Narcissus, flattered and sickeningly excited by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy,” the pope said in the interview published Tuesday in Italy’s La Republicca newspaper. He also disclosed some of his own fears before being elected to the position by a conclave of cardinals in March
“Sometimes when I meet a cleric, I suddenly become anti-clerical,” the pontiff said, according to the paper. “Clericalism shouldn’t have anything to do with Christianity.”
The interview was conducted last week in the Vatican guest house where Francis, who has been praised for what is seen as a simpler and less ostentatious approach to the papacy, lives in a low-key residence.
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