RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the interview he replied to a number of e-mails sent by the British author and journalist Austen Ivereigh.
Pope Francis, who is in social isolation at the Vatican, started by saying: “Here at Saint Martha House, meal shifts have been established, otherwise, everyone works from their office or their rooms with the digital tools, no one is idle”.
Rome’s spiritual leader goes on to say that he spends his time in confinement, praying, thinking about the people, and the consequences now and in the future of this virus.
The Pope also said that he cares about the people of God and seeks to be closer to them, even at a distance.
Recognizing that “it is not easy to be locked up at home,” he said that this is important to prepare for the “after” of the crisis:
“Prepare for better times, because in these times remembering what we’ve been through will help us. Take care of yourselves for the future to come. And when it comes, remembering what happened will do you good. Take care of the present, but for the future.”
The leader of Rome further said that: “Every crisis is a threat, but it’s also an opportunity. It is the opportunity to escape peril. Today, I believe we must slow down a certain rate of consumption and learn to understand and contemplate nature”.
Pope Francis concluded by expressing his solidarity with the workers of essential services:
“You are heroes! Doctors, religious, priests, workers who fulfill duties so that society may operate. How many doctors and nurses have died! How many priests, how many religious died! By serving…”
Source: RevistaPazes