Pope answers poor’s questions in new book

Pope Francis, assisted by Argentinian priest, Monsignor Luis Maria Rodrigo Ewart, blesses attendees during the weekly general audience on March 23, 2022, at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has a new book that answers the questions most frequently asked by the world’s underprivileged.

“I’m hot-headed, impatient … I sometimes make decisions in a hurry,” the Pontiff says in a new book, “From the Poor to the Pope, From the Pope to the World,” based on queries from the world’s underprivileged.

From the slums of Brazil to the homeless in India, Iran, and the United States, people from 80 countries put 100 personal questions to the Pontiff, whose answers have been gathered in book form that will be published on April 1.

“How much do you earn? Did you ever have a girlfriend? What are your flaws?” they ask in the project by French association Lazare, which runs homes where young professionals and formerly homeless live together.

“It hurts me that men of the Church, priests, bishops, cardinals, drive in luxury cars and, far from giving an example of poverty, give the most negative of testimonies,” the Pope said, as quoted in the book.

He rejects all things bling, but admits he could not buy himself flashy things even if he wanted to. “I don’t get paid anything. Not a cent! They feed me, and if I need something, I ask for it,” he said.

“My poverty is fictitious, since I lack nothing. But it is still a bit absurd to have to ask … It makes me less self-sufficient,” he said.

RELATED STORIES

Pope Francis: Look beyond the lights and remember the poor

World has become deaf to plight of the poor, Pope Francis says in Assisi