Pope Francis saw clergy's lack of humility as a 'cancer': author

Pope Francis saw priests' clasp of the trappings of powerfulness arsenic a "cancer" corroding the Roman Catholic Church, according to a best-selling Spanish writer who travelled to Mongolia with the pontiff.

Javier Cercas, a writer and novelist who was raised successful a devout Catholic household but is himself an atheist, was invited to articulation Francis connected the archetypal sojourn by a pope to Mongolia successful August-September 2023.

The sojourn gave emergence to a publication -- translated arsenic "God's Madman astatine the End of the World" -- that is portion travelogue, portion memoir, portion humanities exploration.

Published successful Spanish earlier this year, and translated into Italian, it has been flying disconnected the shelves since Francis's decease connected April 21 astatine the property of 88.

In an interrogation successful Bogota connected Tuesday, Cercas said that during the trip, helium discovered helium had respective things successful communal with the pontiff.

They some liked to instrumentality naps, enjoyed the works of Argentine literate large Jorge Luis Borges, and were "deeply anticlerical."

Cercas, 63, said that Francis viewed "the perverse thought that the clergyman is supra the faithful" arsenic "a crab wrong the Church."

Throughout his papacy, the alleged "pope of the poor" had excoriated the clergy for putting themselves supra the flock and becoming smitten by symbols of power.

In a code to a religion synod successful October 2023, helium called it a "scandal" to spot young priests buying lace vestments from Rome tailors.

Cercas -- who roseate to fame successful 2001 with "Soldiers of Salamina," a caller acceptable during the Spanish Civil War that was aboriginal made into a movie -- said helium agreed to travel the pope to Mongolia connected 1 condition.

He wanted Francis to reply a question for his devout mother: would she beryllium reunited with Cercas's begetter astatine the extremity of her days?

The question of whether Heaven exists was the taxable of overmuch treatment betwixt the writer and the pope -- and became a recurring taxable successful the book.

Cercas sent the pope a signed transcript of the enactment 2 weeks earlier his decease but believes the pontiff, who was already precise unwell, ne'er got astir to speechmaking it.

- The 'Antichrist' pope -

Cercas said helium recovered Francis to beryllium a "very ambitious man" with a "very strong" quality who staunchly defended his close to ace jokes, adjacent erstwhile faced with adversity oregon delicate subjects.

He described the Argentine pontiff arsenic a "revolutionary" who espoused a "primitive Christianity" that gave pridefulness of spot to the "destitute, the poor, the prostitutes."

But helium besides acknowledged that Francis had failed to importantly betterment the Church, blaming "brutal resistance" from the Catholic hierarchy who, helium said, treated Francis arsenic the "Antichrist."

Cercas believes that the cardinals who volition convene successful Rome adjacent week to take Francis's successor volition opt for "a timid reformer, oregon idiosyncratic who appears arsenic a reformer, but behaves similar a conservative."

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