After excerpts were broadcast about a month ago, CBS aired the full “60 Minutes” interview with Pope Francis on May 19, 204.
The Pope’s interview with CBS was the first one-on-one of a pope with American TV. It was recorded on April 24, in light of the Pope’s creation of World Children’s Day, the first of which will be taking place in Rome on May 25 and 26.
Norah O’Donnell, the journalist, asked the Pope a number of questions in the hour-long interview, ranging from war, to the abuse crisis, to same-sex relationships, to surrogacy.
The Holy Father answered in his native Spanish. A transcript of portions of the interview is available in both the original Spanish and the English translation.
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Blessings for same-sex couples
One question dealt with the much-discussed Vatican document on blessings for those in “irregular” relationships, including in same-sex unions. The Pope insisted on a proper understanding of what the document says.
Norah O’Donnell: Last year you decided to allow Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. That’s a big change. Why?
Pope Francis (In Spanish/English translation): No, what I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone. To bless a homosexual-type union, however, goes against the given right, against the law of the Church. But to bless each person, why not? The blessing is for all.
Surrogacy, a hope?
O’Donnell also asked the Holy Father about surrogacy, a topic that has been spoken of by the Pope a number of times lately. “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” the Pope said in his annual address to the diplomatic corps at the Vatican this year.
Surrogacy was also a topic in another recent Vatican document, on human dignity.
O’Donnell presented the practice as “the only hope” for some women, for example, cancer survivors who cannot bear children.
But the Holy Father affirmed that surrogacy is “not authorized” and lamented that “sometimes surrogacy has become a business, and that is very bad. It is very bad.”
However, the Pope praised O’Donnell for how she presented the question, with her comment that it is the only chance for some women. “It shows that you feel these things very deeply. Thank you,” he said with a smile.
Nevertheless, he gently took issue with O’Donnell’s characterization. Surrogacy “could be [the only chance],” he said. “The other hope is adoption. I would say that in each case the situation should be carefully and clearly considered, consulting medically and then morally as well.”
Then, he urged a practice that is characteristic of his pontificate: “go into each case in particular to assess the situation” but “as long as the moral principle is not skirted.”
Conservative
While O’Donnell suggested that the Pope is a reformer opposed by “conservative bishops in the United States,” he considered looking at the meaning of this word generally used in political contexts, “conservadores” — translated “conservative.”
He said:
Conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that. It is a suicidal attitude. Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box.
Hope vs indifference
The Pope also spoke about what gives him hope in the world: “Everything. You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things.”
And he warned against “the globalization of indifference.” He lamented that there are “so many Pontius Pilates on the loose out there,” and made a plea:
Please, we have to get our hearts to feel again. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of such human dramas. The globalization of indifference is a very ugly disease. Very ugly.
And today we celebrate...