Pope Francis has said he will do everything he can to change the "introspective and Vatican-centric" nature of the Holy See, criticising the Roman curia for neglecting the wider world and its 1.2 billion Catholics.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica – his second in as many weeks – the pontiff hit out at the historic pomp of some of his "narcissistic" predecessors, describing the papal court as "the leprosy of the papacy".
He also said that, in a moment of great anxiety, after being elected head of the church in March, it occurred to him to not accept the role offered. But the moment soon passed, he said, and he then had no more anxiety or emotion.
Speaking to Eugenio Scalfari, a co-founder of the Italian daily, and an atheist, who had exchanged letters with him over the summer, the Argentinian pope said he agreed it would be difficult to reform the Vatican.
But he said that, while not St Francis of Assisi, who also had to "negotiate with the Roman power elite", he was the "bishop of Rome and the Catholic pope" so would try his best to shake up the Vatican. » | Lizziy Davies in Rome | Tuesday, October 01, 2013
