Vatican City, Apr 15, 2022 / 07:20 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said in an interview aired on Good Friday that the world has “chosen the path of Cain.”
In the interview with “A Sua immagine” (“In His image”), on Italy’s Rai 1 channel, the pope pointed to wars currently raging around the world.
“At this moment in Europe, this war is really affecting us. But let’s look a little further,” he said.
“The world is at war, the world is at war! Syria, Yemen, then think of the Rohingya people driven out, without a homeland. War is everywhere. The genocide in Rwanda 25 years ago.”
“Because the world has chosen — it’s hard to say this — but the world has chosen the path of Cain and war is enacting what Cain did, that is, killing one’s brother.”
The pope has frequently referred to the biblical figure of Cain, who killed his brother Abel, since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
In the interview with “A Sua immagine,” broadcast on April 15, Pope Francis said that he prayed the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel every day.
“Every day, I pray that prayer to St. Michael the Archangel in the morning. Every day! So that it might help me conquer the devil,” he told his interviewer, Lorena Bianchetti.
“Someone who hears me might say: ‘But, Your Holiness, you have studied, you are the pope and you still believe in the devil?’ Yes, I believe in him, I believe in him. I am afraid of him, this is why I have to defend myself so much.”
“The devil was the one who did all that maneuvering so that Jesus would end up like he did, on the cross. The powers of darkness over Jesus: ‘This is your hour,’ the powers of darkness.”
In the special Good Friday episode, entitled “Hope under siege,” the pope also reflected on topics including domestic violence, refugees, and Christ’s Passion.
“Today, Good Friday, in front of Jesus Crucified, let him touch your heart, let him speak to you with his silence, and with his pain,” he advised.
“He speaks to you through those people who are suffering in the world: who suffer from hunger, suffer from war, suffer from such exploitation, and all these things.”
“Let Jesus speak to you and, please, don’t speak. Remain silent. Let him be the one, and ask for the grace of tears.”
Reflecting on the virtue of hope later in the interview, the pope said that “hope never disappoints, but it makes you wait.”
“Hope is the housekeeper of the Catholic life, of the Christian life. It is truly the humblest of virtues,” he said.
The pope has a long-standing relationship with “A Sua immagine.” He made a surprise live call-in to the program at the start of the coronavirus crisis in 2020.
He has also made several references to the program in recent months, citing it in an Angelus address in October 2021 and on other occasions.
During the interview, he was asked if he had felt alone since his election in 2013.
“No, God has been good to me,” he replied. “I don’t know. If there is something bad, he has always put someone there to help me. He has been present. He has been very generous. Perhaps because he knows that I wouldn’t be able to make it alone.”
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