‘I consulted a psychoanalyst,’ Francis reveals in new book
Keeps getting worse and worse with Antipope Francis. This man is not the true Pope.
Francis opened up in new book, soon to be published in France, where he talks, among other things, about his meetings
with a psychoanalyst in Argentina, the Christian roots of Europe, gay
marriage, migrants and the resistance toward his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
The book, Politics and Society, contains the transcripts of an unusually long series of 12 conversations between the pope and the French sociologist Dominique Wolton, founder of the Institute of the Sciences of Communication of the CNRS in Paris, and author of a book containing a long interview with Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the late archbishop of Paris.
The conversations occurred with the help of a priest who was present and provided the translation.
"Pope" says he was enriched, influenced by women in his life
Pope Francis spoke of the women who influenced him in his life, from grandmothers to former “little girlfriends”. “The ones I met helped me a lot in my life when I needed to confide myself,” the pope said, adding, “to have always been in touch with women has enriched me.”“I have learned, even in adulthood, that women see things differently from men,” and that it is important “to listen to both,” Pope Francis said.
The pope admitted to having been greatly influenced by a communist female militant, Esther Ballestrino de Careaga, who founded a movement of mothers who denounced the killing of their children by the regime in Argentina.
“She
taught me to think about political reality, […] I owe so much to this
woman,” Pope Francis said. “I was told once: ‘But you are a Communist!’
No, the Communists are the Christians. It’s the others who stole our
banner! “
Among the other women he confided in was his psychoanalyst who he consulted between 1978 and 1979.
These were trying years for Pope Francis as he was transitioning from
the difficult task of provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in
Argentina to rector of the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San
Miguel.The pope’s visit with a psychoanalyst is not surprising, considering that Argentina has the highest number of therapists per capita in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
The book will be published on September 6, but the French Le Figaro Magazine has released three large abstracts from the book. Following is the translation into English of some of the most salient points.
‘She helped me a lot,’ pope says about psychoanalyst
“I consulted with a Jewish psychoanalyst. For months I went to her house once a week to clear up some things. She was a doctor and psychoanalyst, and she always stayed put. Then one day, when she was about to die, she called me. Not to receive the sacraments, since she was Jewish, but for a spiritual dialogue. She was a very good person. For six months she helped me a lot, when I was 42 years old.”‘Europe exploited Africa’
“The problem starts in the countries from which migrants are from. Why do they leave their land? Because of the lack of jobs or because of war. These are the two main reasons. The lack of jobs, because they were exploited - I am thinking of the Africans. Europe exploited Africa… I don’t know if we can say it! But certain European colonization… yes, they exploited.I read that a recently elected African head of state presented to the Parliament a law for the reforestation of his country as a first government act - and it was approved. The economic powers of the world had cut down all the trees. Reforestation. The earth is dry because it was exploited and there is no work.
The first thing we need to do, as I said at the United Nations, at the European Council and the entire world, is to find sources to create employment, investments. It’s true that Europe must invest also in its own home. There is an issue of unemployment here also. The other reason for migration is war. We can invest, people can have a place to work and not have to leave, but if there is war, they will still have to escape. Who makes war? Who hands out weapons? We do.”
The lay state: ‘Religions are also part of the culture’
“The lay state is a healthy thing. There is a healthy laicism. Jesus said: We must render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. We are the same before God. But I believe that in certain countries like France, this laicism [laïcité in French carries a distinct idea of the relationship between Church and State. - Ed.] carries the legacy of enlightenment too much, which creates the common belief where religions are considered a subculture. I believe that France - this is my personal opinion, not the official Church one - should ‘elevate’ a little bit the level of laicism, in the sense that it must say that religions are also part of the culture. How to express this in lay terms? Through an openness to transcendence. Everyone can find his form of openness. ”‘Europe is afraid’
“I don’t see any more Schumann, I don’t see any more Adenauer (two of the intellectual fathers of the European Union)…. Europe in this moment, is afraid. It closes, closes, closes… Europe has a history of cultural integration, multicultural […], very strong.The Longobards, today’s Longobards (a Germanic people who occupied a large part of Italy. Today the Lombardy region in Italy is one of the most opposed to welcoming migrants and refugees), are barbarians that arrived a long time ago… then everything melts together and we have our culture.
But what is European culture? How would I define European culture today? Yes it has important Christian roots, it’s true. But it’s not enough to define it. There are all of our abilities. The abilities to integrate, to welcome others. In our Spanish language, 40 percent of the words are Arab. Why? Because they were there for seven centuries. (The pope is referring to the Arab occupation of the Hispanic Peninsula from the beginning of the VIII Century to the Spanish Reconquista completed in the XIII Century) And they left a mark…. I believe that Europe has Christian roots, but they are not the only ones. There are others that cannot be denied.
Anyway, I believe it’s a mistake not to mention the ‘Christian roots’ (of Europe) in the document of the European Union on the first Constitution, and this (mistake) was also made by governments. It was a mistake not to see the truth. This does not mean that Europe must be entirely Christian. But it is a heritage, a cultural heritage, that we have received.”
