These quotes are from Of Vices and Virtues, Don Marco Pozza’s new book-interview with Pope Francis:

Anger and bullying

“[Anger] is a storm whose purpose is to destroy. Bullying arises when, instead of seeking to understand one’s own identity, one belittles and attacks the identity of others. When aggression and bullying occur we see the poverty of the aggressor identity. The only way to ‘heal’ from bullying is to share, to live together, to dialogue, to listen others, and to take time apart. Only time can build a relationship.”

God’s wrath

Pope Francis says divine anger “is directed against evil, not that which comes from human weakness, but evil of satanic inspiration. God’s wrath seeks to bring justice and to ‘cleanse’. The flood is the result of God’s wrath.” While some experts say the flood is “a mythical story”, archaeologists say it is “an historical event because traces have been found of a flood in their excavations”. He warns that by not taking care of creation, we risk a new “flood”.

On governance

“Whoever governs without prudence governs poorly. They do evil things and make bad decisions, which destroy people.” Prudence in government “must sometimes be unbalanced to make decisions that produce change”.

Faith and doubt

“The devil puts doubts in us, then life happens along with its tragedies: ‘Why does God allow this?’ But a faith without doubts cannot advance. The thought of being abandoned by God many saints have experienced, along with many people today, but [they] do not lose faith. They watch over the gift: ‘Right now I feel nothing, but I guard the gift of faith. The Christian who has never gone through these states of mind lacks something, because it means they have settled for less. Crises of faith are not failures. They reveal desire to enter into the depths of the mystery of God.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)