Challenge me face-to-face, Pope Francis tells critics

Francis defends George Pell for criticising him as he demands other opponents of his ‘mercy over dogma’ style challenge him to his face.

Pope Francis signs a cricket bat of the Canterbury cricket team received from Cardinal George Pell at the Vatican.

The Pope has described the increasing criticism he faces from conservative Catholics as a “rash”, and demanded that his foes challenge him to his face as he defended his much-maligned dealings with the Chinese government.

The Pope threw down the gauntlet to opponents of his “mercy over dogma” style, who have stepped up their attacks since the death last month of his retired predecessor, Benedict XVI. The former Pope’s influence had kept critics at bay.

The German archbishop Georg Ganswein, 66, Benedict’s former secretary, has claimed that Pope Francis’s restriction of the use of the traditional Latin Mass “broke the heart” of Benedict, and before his own death this month the Australian cardinal George Pell accused Francis of ignoring biblical teaching.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the Pope, 86, described the criticism he faced as “a rash that bothers you a bit”, adding: “The only thing I ask is that they do it to my face, because that’s how we all grow, right?”

He also said he forgave Pell, who was jailed in Australia over sex abuse claims before being freed on appeal. “Even though they say he criticised me, fine, he has the right. Criticism is a human right,” he said, adding: “He was a great guy.”

Francis defended his 2018 deal to appoint bishops in China jointly with the Chinese government. Beijing has been accused of ignoring the deal and persecuting Catholics.

Saying “We must walk patiently in China”, Francis added he was determined “the dialogue doesn’t break”. However, he admitted: “Sometimes they are a little closed.”

The Argentinian Pope also hit back against conservative opposition to his outreach to the gay community and called for the overturning of “unjust” laws that criminalise homosexuality.

Although the Catholic Church declares that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” it decries discrimination against homosexuals. “Being homosexual is not a crime,” Francis said, adding, “Yes, but it’s a sin. First let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

He said: “It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.”

Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalise or discriminate against the LGBT community but Francis attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds, and said bishops in particular needed to undergo a process of change to recognise the dignity of everyone.

Francis heaped praise on Benedict, who shocked the world in 2013 by becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign. In retirement he moved to a monastery in the Vatican gardens. Calling him a “gentleman”, and claiming “I lost a dad” when Benedict died, Francis said he asked the former pontiff for advice. “In the face of a doubt, I would ask for the car and go to the monastery and ask,” he said.

He said he would not, however, follow Benedict’s example and live inside the Vatican or call himself Pope emeritus if he, too, resigned. Instead he would take the title emeritus bishop of Rome and live in a residence for retired priests in the city.

Speculation mounted that Francis would step down after an operation to remove part of his intestines in 2021 and a knee condition that has forced him to use a wheelchair. “For my age, I’m normal,” he said, while admitting that the diverticulosis that prompted his operation had returned. “I might die tomorrow, but it’s under control. I’m in good health,” he said.

The Times