VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture
In a wide-ranging interview with the Vatican correspondent of a major Mexican media company, Pope Francis discussed drug trafficking, the success of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America, the conclave that elected him, the synod of bishops, curial reform, and clerical sexual abuse.
Hesitant to use the word “sects” to describe all evangelical Protestant groups, the Pontiff, according to Vatican Radio, said evangelicals have found success because they are close to the people; the Church in Latin America, in contrast, has a certain clericalism that creates distance from the people. Evangelicals have also found success where priests preach “disastrous” and overly abstract homilies.
Recalling the 2013 conclave, he said:
During the vote I was praying the rosary, I usually pray three rosaries daily, and I felt great peace, almost to the point of insentience. The very same when everything was resolved, and for me this was a sign that God wanted it, great peace. From that day to this I have not lost it. It is ‘something inside’ it is like a gift. I do not know what happened next. They made [me] stand up. They asked me if I agreed. I said yes. I do not know if they made me swear on something, I forget. I was at peace.
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