Pope Francis: Some people wanted me to die

Bratislava. Photo by Lukáš Kulla on Unsplash

Pope Francis had a wide-ranging conversation with 53 Slovak Jesuits in Bratislava during his visit to Budapest and Slovakia. Antonio Spadaro SJ has published the text of the meeting in La Civilta Catolica.

During the gathering Pope Francis began by speaking about his health and recent surgery: "Still alive, even though some people wanted me to die."

Advising them on their pastoral work in Slovakia he spoke about the importance of prayer: "We might be tempted to say: I can't pray because I'm busy. But God is busy too. God is busy being close to you, waiting for you."

He also mentioned "a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope. I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the Church does not deserve them."

There were also questions about Jewish-Christian dialogue, gender ideology, Latin liturgy, and refugees.

Read the full text from La Civilta Catolica here: www.laciviltacattolica.com/freedom-scares-us-pope-francis-conversation-with-slovak-jesuits/