that we’ll need two or three more meetings before there is any kind of reform.
On the other hand, some theologians have said—in Latin, and I’m not sure if it was in the Middle Ages—Ecclesia semper reformanda: “The Church always needs to be reformed.” Otherwise, it lags behind, not only because of scandals like Vatileaks, which everyone knows about, but because the Church always needs to be reformed. There are things that worked in the last century, which worked in past ages and from other vantage points, which no longer work and need to be adapted. The Church is a dynamic organism that responds to life’s circumstances. All of this is something that was requested during the meetings of cardinals before the conclave. We spoke in very clear terms, and some very clear and concrete proposals were made. We will continue along these lines. I don’t know if I answered your question.
You responded very well, very thoroughly. What is your message for the youth of Brazil? Your message comes at a time when young people are protesting in the streets of Brazil in order to register their dissatisfaction in a very strong way. What message do you have for these young people?
First of all, I need to make it clear that I don’t know the reasons why these young people are protesting. So if I say something without clarifying this, I would be making a mistake; I would be making a mistake to everyone, because I would be giving an opinion without knowing the facts. Frankly, I don’t know exactly why these young people are protesting. Second, I’m not happy with a young person who does not protest, because young people dream of a utopia, and a utopia is not always a bad thing. A utopia is a breath and a look to the future. It’s true that a young person is fresh to life and has less life experience. Sometimes life’s experiences can hold us back. However, young people have greater freshness to say what they want to say. Youths are basically nonconformists. This is wonderful! This is something that all young people have in common.
In general, I would have to say that you need to listen to young people, give them room to express themselves, yet exercise a concern for them so that they do not end up being manipulated. Insofar as there is human trafficking—slave labor and so many forms of human trafficking—I would dare to add one more thing without offending anyone: There are people who target these young people to manipulate this hope, this non conformism, thereby ruining the lives of young people. Therefore, we need to be attentive to this manipulation of our youths. Young people need to be heard. Pay attention to them! A family, a father, and a mother who do not listen to their young son end up isolating him and stirring up sadness in his soul, not taking any risks themselves. Young people have a wealth to offer, but clearly lack experience. Yet, we have to listen to them and protect them from any strange form of manipulation, whether it be ideological or sociological. We must listen to them and give them room to sound off.
This leads me to another issue that I spoke about today in the cathedral when I met with the group of young people from Argentina—a group of representatives who had come to present me with their credentials. I told them that the world in which we live today has fallen into a fierce idolatry of money. This creates a global policy that is characterized by the prominence of wealth. Today, money is what controls us. The result is an economic-centered global policy that does not have any ethical controls; an economic policy that is sufficient unto itself and that organizes our social structures as it seems fit.
What happens then? When such a world of fierce idolatry of money reigns over us, we focus a lot on those at its center. But those on the margins of society, those at its limits, are neglected, uncared for, or discarded. So far we have clearly seen how the elderly are left aside. There is a whole philosophy for discarding the elderly. There’s no need to do so. It’s nonproductive. Even our young people do not produce that much because there is a potential that needs to be formed. And now we are seeing that those at the other end of the spectrum, our young people, are about to be left aside.
The high rate of youth unemployment in Europe is alarming. I won’t make a list of the countries of Europe, but I will give two examples of serious unemployment in these two wealthy countries in Europe. In one, the index of unemployment is 25 percent of overall unemployment. But in this very same country, the index of youth unemployment is 43 or 44 percent. That means that 43 or 44 percent of the youth of this country are unemployed! In another country, with an index of over 30 percent overall unemployment, unemployment among young people has already exceeded 50 percent. We are facing a growing phenomenon of young people being “discarded.” In order to support such a global political model, we simply discard those on its margins. Curiously, we discard those that hold the promise for the future, because the future lies in the hands of our young people since they will be the ones who carry out this future, as well as the elderly, who need to pass on their wisdom to our youths. By discarding both, the world will collapse.
I do not know if I’m making myself clear. A humanistic ethic is missing throughout the world. I’m talking about a worldwide problem—on a worldwide level, as I more or less know it. I’m not very familiar with details regarding this country. And if you give me a minute more, I will say something else regarding this issue. In the twelfth century, there was a very good rabbi who was a writer. Through stories, he explained moral problems to his community that were in some passages of the Bible. Once, he explained the Tower of Babel to them. This medieval rabbi, from the twelfth century, explained it in the following terms: What was the problem with the Tower of Babel? Why did God punish them? To build the tower, they needed to make bricks: cart the mud, cut the straw, mix the two together, cut them, dry them, cook them, and then take them up to the top of the tower. This is how it was built. If a brick fell, it was a national catastrophe. If a worker fell, nothing happened.
Today there are children who have nothing to eat in this world, children who are dying of hunger and malnutrition. Just look at photographs of some of the places in this world. There are sick people who do not have access to health care. There are men and women who are beggars who are dying in the cold of winter. There are children who do not receive an education. All this does not make the news. Yet, when the stock exchange loses three or four points in a few capitals of the world, it’s a worldwide catastrophe. Do you understand what I am saying? This is the tragedy of this inhumane humanism that we are experiencing. For this reason, we need to come to the aid of those living on the margins—children and young people—without falling into a global mentality of indifference with respect to these two extremes, who are the future of a nation.
Excuse me if I have dwelt too much on this and have spoken too much. By doing so, you have my opinion. What’s happening with young people in Brazil? I don’t know. But, please, do not manipulate them. Listen to them, because it is a worldwide phenomenon, which extends far beyond Brazil.
Very interesting! That’s a very deep thought. I’d like to ask you one last thing. What is your message you’d like to give to Brazilians who are Catholic as well as to Brazilians who are not Catholic, who belong to other religions. For example, Rabbi [Abraham] Skorka, your friend from Buenos Aires, was here. What message would you leave to a country like Brazil?
I think we should promote a culture of encounter throughout the world, so that everyone may experience the need to impart ethical values to mankind, which are needed so much today, and to protect this human reality. In this regard, I think it is important that everyone works together for others, pruning away our selfishness and working for others according to the values of the faith, which is ours. Every denomination has its own beliefs, but, according to the values that are part of this faith, we need to work for those around us. Moreover, we need to meet together in order to work together for others. If there is a child who is hungry and who is not receiving an education, what should matter to us is putting an end to this hunger and making sure he receives an education. It doesn’t matter whether those who provide this education are Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, or Jews. I don’t care. What matters is that they be educated and that they be nourished.
The urgency today is such that we cannot quarrel among ourselves to the expense of others. We must first work together for those around us,
