|
Bono and the pope spoke for more than 30
minutes at a meeting to team up the rock star's ONE
organization, a global campaign and advocacy organization that
aims to end extreme poverty, with a papal group named Scholas
Occurrentes, which helps foster cooperation among schools
worldwide.
"Having just come from Ireland, inevitably, we talked about his
(being) aghast about what has happened in the Church," Bono told
reporters afterwards.
During his trip to Ireland last month, Francis begged
forgiveness for the multitude of abuses suffered by victims in
Ireland at the hand of the Church over decades.[L8N1VH096]
"I explained to him how it looks to some people that the abusers
are being more protected than the victims and you could see the
pain in his face," Bono said.
"I felt he was sincere and I think he is an extraordinary man
for extraordinary times".
Years of sexual abuse scandals have shattered the credibility of
the Church, which four decades ago dominated Irish society. In
the past three years, Irish voters have approved abortion and
gay marriage in referendums, defying the Vatican.
Bono also said he and the pope discussed development issues and
the pontiff's 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si," which backed moves
to defend the planet from global warming and climate change and
called for a more equal distribution of the earth's resources.
"We have to re-think the wild beast that is capitalism. Although
it is not immoral, it is amoral and it requires our instruction
and he (the pope) is very keen on that," Bono said.
(Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
