Interviewing the Pope
I was back at my desk in Broadcasting House today after a week in Rome. Some of you have written to ask if I pulled off an interview with Pope Benedict. Not likely. He is at the top of my interviewee wish-list, of course. Very wisely, popes don't do interviews -- not even with David Frost. (Though, wouldn't it be wonderful if Peter Morgan was able to produce a papal sequel to his terrific play Frost/Nixon. Can you imagine the list of questions Frost would be required not to ask?) On the other hand, popes have been known to answer the odd question from a journalist at a general audience.
There is a story, apocryphal I am sure, but often told in 大象传媒 circles, of an edition of Songs of Praise, some years back, in which the presenter was able to have a quick word (a single, short question) with Pope John Paul following a general audience. Apparently, the producer of the programme was concerned that the presenter (who shall remain nameless) might have asked the Pope the question she habitually asked of members of the public: "Does your faith help you with your work?"
In that spirit, if you could interview the Pope, what would you ask him?
Comments
Like all good stories it's a mix of fact and fiction. A reporter (possibly 大象传媒, but I can't be sure) and his camera man were in private gardens in the Vatican when JP2 and some of his staff (? is that the right word?) walked past having their daily constitutional. The reporter managed to ask a question and got a friendly but short response. The clip exists - I've seen it. There is a second legend that a member of the Songs of Praise team had the "Does faith help you in your work?" question as a default and was supposed to have asked the Arch Bishop of Canterbury - unlikely. But your story is better.
My question to the Pope would be:
What's your favourite colour?
His answer would be about as relevant as anything else the Pope has to say.
Just as I would ask any other supposed 'medium'
What makes you think you know things any better than I do?
I daren鈥檛 ask the Pope a question or I would have all the whinging objector鈥檚 complaining about my question being sectarian.
Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?
I would ask:
WHAT DID YOU KNOW?
I'd ask what his theory was on the sudden death of Pope John Paul I after only 33 days in office.
I wouldn't expect an answer though...
a right bunch of whingers on this post, aren't there? I would ask him what his favourite book (fiction) is. Always gives a good insight to a person. Or perhaps ask him to make me a Cardinal. Or could he please put somebody good in as bishop of Down and Connor and not Donal Mc Keown. Or ask him to write to the "Church of Ireland" and tell them they're not really the Church of Ireland and would they mind awfully not calling us "Roman Catholics" because we aren't.
"Or ask him to write to the "Church of Ireland" and tell them they're not really the Church of Ireland"
Would you mind explaining the logic behind that statement?
"and would they mind awfully not calling us "Roman Catholics" because we aren't."
Without wishing to get into a semantic debate, if you refuse to recognise the Protestant churches as part of the 'universal' (i.e. catholic) church you can hardly blame them for calling you the roman arm of the catholic church.
D Smyth, you have sort of got my point but missed it entirely. My point was that people complain (express hurt, disappointment, confusion and other Anglican expressions of dismay) when the Catholic Church discusses terminology and points out to Catholics that Anglicans aren't "Church" in the way way understand Church. My point is that Anglicans use terminology that can be hurtful, disappointing etc. "Church of Ireland" is a relic of when they were the state established church. Even then they were a small minority and now less so. "Roman Catholic" is a term coined by Anglicans who believe in the branch theory which has Anglicans, "Romans" and Orthodox as branches of the one Catholic Church. But they seem to think of this as a given which the rest of us must accept. And when we don't they express hurt, disappointment etc. So here's the thing. I'll call the Anglican Communion in Ireland the "Church of Ireland" if they'll call us the "Catholic Church". It's simply good manners to use the names people use for themselves. (Disclaimer - using the name "Church of Ireland" in no way suggests they are a "Church" as understood in Catholic theology since they have formally and specifically rejected the Catholic view of Eucharist and priesthood and therefore lost the apostolic succession. And by the way, St Patrick was a Catholic bishop in communion with the Pope and not an anglican and there were no Anglicans before Henry VIII invented them to support his adultery, judicial murder and theft from the monasteries.)
Agree we should avoid semantic debate.
As an Anglo Catholic within the Church of Ireland I suggest it might be best if we agree to disagree.
However the fact that Bishop of Rome had little authority over the Celtic Church in these islands during the time of Patrick is historical fact- it wasn't until Queen Margaret of Scotland's time (later Saint Margaret of Scotland) nearly 600 years later that Roman authority was fully established over the Celtic Church.
As St Patrick said, "As you are children of Christ, be you also childen of Rome". One thing we can say with certainty, the early church in Ireland was in communion with the bishop of Rome and wasn't Anglican.
And there is no such thing as the "Celtic Church".
but Padraig - you said in #7
and would they mind awfully not calling us "Roman Catholics" because we aren't.
then in #11 you qouted paddy
"As you are children of Christ, be you also childen of Rome".
Make up your mind!
Irish Catholics in communion with the Bishop of Rome. Fairly simple, "Free"thinker.
COI calls itself catholic too!
Correction
I should have said that the C of Ireland considers itself to be part of a catholic church - the Anglican Comm.
Since the Pope seems to be a student of history having quoted another Pope of centuries gone by when he rattled the cages of the entire Islamic world and is presumably as thick skinned as he expected those around the world to be, having been taken by surprise at their umbrage, I'd ask him if the Catholic Church had a tally nation by nation, era by era of how many people were killed, enslaved, robbed, or otherwise brutalized in the name of the Catholic Church either directly or by those acting on its behalf. These could include the Crusades, the Inquisition, imperial conquest by European powers such as Spain, etc. I'd also like to know if the Catholic Church has any estimate of how many people have so far contracted HIV virus, have gotten full blown AIDS, and how many have died of it as a direct result of its teachings on the use of condoms in the practice of safe sex both inside and outside of marriage. I'd also like to know if the Church has an estimate of the direct and indirect consequences of these deaths such as the number of orphans created, the loss of those who sustain the economies of villages, even entire nations in the third world, and the consequent social upheaval it has caused. If there were any time left over, I'd like an authoritative explanation of the Church's failure to speak out during the Nazi murder of millions of Jews and to explain what role the Catholic Church had in aiding and abetting the escape of Nazi war criminals to South America and other refuges right after the second world war. I don't supposed he'd open the church's financial books so that we could for the first time see how much money it has, where it gets it, and how it was disposed of nor what connections financially or otherwise it has had with organized crime such as La Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia.
While the Pope is in the question box, I'd also ask him how many of the Monseigneurs and other heirarchy of the Catholic Church who aided and abetted paedophile Priests by moving them from parish to parish to avoid discovery of their crimes and conspiring to allow them to commit new ones on children in places like America were turned over to the authorities by the Church for criminal prosecution? Funny how religions are obsessed with homosexuality which is not a crime in most democracies while it turns it back on paedophilia commited by its its own which is among the most heinous of crimes often destroying children by inflicting lifelong psychological scars.
In answer to Mark's rant:
Crusades 鈥 very few, and clearly not enough. Don鈥檛 forget, the Crusades were a defensive measure against invading Muslim forces. The Holy Land and Byzantium didn鈥檛 become muslim through democracy and conversion but by the sword.
Inquisition 鈥 the Roman variety controlled by the Church 鈥 very few executed. Spanish variety controlled by the Spanish monarchy 鈥 about 3,000 or fewer than those killed by Jihadists on September 11th.
Imperial conquests by European powers 鈥 you really think they were acting for the Church?
Aids 鈥 no one has gotten Aids by following Church teaching which restricts sexual intercourse to married persons. As regards those who don鈥檛 follow this teaching, well the Church does not tell people how best to commit sin 鈥 like 鈥渕ake sure you keep the safety on when committing armed robbery鈥. The responsibility for Aids lies with those who think homosexual acts are fine, that promiscuity is nobody's business and that condoms make you safe like telling someone it's okay to speed and drink and drive so long as you wear your your seatbelt.
Nazis 鈥 the great majority of 鈥淩ighteous Gentiles鈥 recognised by Israel were Catholic. All the contemporary evidence points to Church resistance including by Pope Pius XII who hid Jews in Castel Gandolfo. The recent black propoganda was instigated by the KGB to discredit the Church. All Jewish sources at the time praised the Pope for his efforts.
Money 鈥 Vatican publishes accounts every year. If you don鈥檛 like it don鈥檛 contribute. I鈥檓 sure you don鈥檛 anyway.
Mafia 鈥 the only consistent opposition to the Mafia has come from the Church.
Paedophilia 鈥 how many people reported these things to the police instead of cosying up to a bishop on the QT to have it resolved? What did they expect a bishop to do in the circumstances when they themselves weren鈥檛 willing to go to the police? How many of these cases involved homosexual activity with teenage boys rather than paedophilia. When are we going to ensure that no homosexuals are ordained?
Mr Colye seems to have an answer to everything!
" about 3,000 or fewer than those killed by Jihadists on September 11th." - so thats makes it OK then...