Pope Francis to assassins: Make sure it doesn’t hurt because “I’m a wimp”

From the Daily Mail:

Pope Francis says he accepts he may be assassinated – but asks God to make sure it doesn’t hurt because he is ‘a real wimp’

Pope Francis has said he has accepted that he may be assassinated- but has asked God to make sure it doesn’t hurt too much as he is ‘a real wimp’.
Francis said that if fanatics want to kill him, it is ‘God’s will’.
He said: ‘Life is in God’s hands. I have said to the Lord, “You take care of me. But if it is your will that I die or something happens to me, I ask you only one favour: that it doesn’t hurt. Because I am a real wimp when it comes to physical pain.”

The pope made the light-hearted comments in an interview with Buenos Aires favela tabloid La Carcova News in which inhabitants of the shantytown Villa La Carcova collectively came up with the questions.

[…]

This is a good time to remind you of what I have posted in the past.

We don’t know the time and place of our death.

Please develop the good practice of examining your conscience every day and going to confession regularly.  Please teach your children to examine their consciences and take them to confession, teaching them what to do and why.

Fathers, you will be called to account for the souls entrusted to you.  Preach about sin, about the Four Last Things, about the Sacrament of Penance.

A subitanea et improvisa morte… From a sudden and unprovided death, spare us O Lord.”

A sudden death can be a blessing.

A sudden and unprovided death – unprovided in the sense of having no recourse to the sacraments when you are not in the state of grace – is a horrifying prospect.

Make plans for, provide for, the needs of both body and soul for yourselves and those in your charge.

Finally… GO TO CONFESSION!

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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19 Comments

  1. cbmiamiensis says:

    “She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.”
    Flannery O’Connor, as said by young girl in “A Temple of The Holy Spirit”

  2. Imrahil says:

    Death did he [Beren] not fear, only imprisonment. (Tolkien, The Silmarillion)

  3. asperges says:

    I do wish he’d stop talking to newspapers and magazines.

  4. anilwang says:

    My own personal experience has shown me that pain or not, I wouldn’t be afraid of assassination. Risking my life to save someone, even if there is a zero chance of surviving isn’t a problem either, nor is being thrown to the beasts for the witness of Christ or a family member.

    What would extremely difficult for me to do is to do what Maximilian Kolbe did, namely rationally lay down my life for someone else and not fight back, because fighting back would result in their death. Even walking passively to the chopping block as Thomas More did terrifies me if I had no chance to fight back (even if I knew it was futile), even if it’s quick and the pain is minimal.

    We all have our weak points. I pray that Satan never uses mine against me.

  5. oldconvert says:

    I read a story in the paper a little while ago about an old Christian woman in one of the areas invaded by ISIS. She was threatened by one of the oh-so-brave warriors with death if she wouldn’t convert to Islam, and she said (I’m papraphrasing) – “you might as well go ahead and kill me now because I’m not going to abandon my faith”. And the terrorist was so taken aback that he let her go.
    I would like to feel that I would react the same as that old woman (even though the Holy Father seems to have a low opinion of old women). But then, it’s easier for that lady and me – we are, precisely, old. We have lived our lives. I find it difficult to condemn others in a different position.

  6. RobS says:

    God preserve the Holy Father and not let the terrorists get to him nor anyone else.

  7. Wiktor says:

    My father died today. Some prayer will by helpful. [Prayers for sure. And my I suggest that you post about your father, and ask for prayers also HERE?]

  8. Patti Day says:

    I was taught that God works all things for the good, but I don’t think I ever heard God wills an evil act like assassination.

  9. Animadversor says:

    Who does not fear in some measure physical suffering? This fear is natural to human beings, something that God has put into us for our own good, and it is not something of which we ought to be ashamed. What we ought to be ashamed of, or at least to regret, is allowing this fear to keep us from a greater good or even allowing this fear to impel us towards an evil act so as to avoid the pain. It is good to confess this fear before men, for the confession of it helps to limit any undue power we may give it. It is good to offer this weakness to God, who said

    Sufficit tibi gratia mea nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur libenter igitur gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis ut inhabitet in me virtus Christi

    My grace is sufficient for thee; for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

    How often do we wish to be relieved of weakness that God in His wisdom has permitted to remain? It is better to love the glory of God than our own comfort, even our own spiritual comfort.

  10. Facta Non Verba says:

    I worry almost every day, lately, that ISIS will behead the Holy Father. I have confidence that the Swiss Guard will put up a fierce defense, but I worry that they can be over-run by maniacal, savage killers.

  11. Animadversor says:

    I am very sorry, Wiktor, about the loss of your father, such a very great loss. May he soon see God face-to-face.

  12. lmo1968 says:

    Prayers going up for the soul of Wiktor’s father.

  13. Paulo says:

    Wictor, May Blessed Mary, Queen of Heaven and of the Holy Rosary, receive your father in Heaven.

  14. Kathleen10 says:

    Wiktor, I am so sorry. That is one of life’s most challenging times. Hang in there and hold on to all that Jesus promised us. May God show his mercy to your dad and also comfort you and your family.

  15. Supertradmum says:

    See my comments on the vision of John Bosco…this Pope has said this before…perhaps he has a premonition..why not? May he lead the Church into the era of suffering..

  16. Giuseppe says:

    Dear Wiktor, I stopped at my church on the way home from work and prayed for your dad. Jesus met with the grieving Martha and Mary and comforted them by bringing Lazarus back to life. I prayed that Jesus would comfort you by bringing your father to eternal life. Admittedly, I have little say in matters of final judgment, but I put in my 2 cents. May Jesus be with you these days.

  17. JesusFreak84 says:

    I get that the Holy Father sometimes speaks tongue in cheek, I do it all the time, (which goes over very well when Asperger’s affects my delivery! XD ) but this is sadly the attitude of far too many Catholics to any adversity at all =- (NO meat on ANY Friday, even outside of Lent???)

    Maybe His Holiness is adopting to ISIS the attitude CS Lewis quotes in the beginning of “The Screwtape Letters?” Those quotes are from Luther and Calvin, but even those broken clocks can be correct once or twice a day.

  18. Suburbanbanshee says:

    ISIS and the Libyan crew allied to ISIS have said they want to take over Rome and such, so it’s a rational thing for the Pope to talk and joke about. (Especially since his Romans have proudly responded with mocking laughter.)

    There must be something both sobering and reassuring about knowing that one’s predecessors in the job have often been martyred.

  19. Wiktor says:

    Thank you all for support and prayers.

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