“That is something that still hasn’t been decided,” he said. “I would like to go. They are my people. But there are various things to resolve first.”
However, if he does go, he said, he would want to stop over in the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous region in the Atlantic, where thousands of migrants — including many unaccompanied minors — have arrived from Senegal, Mali and other African countries.
Regarding the ongoing clerical sexual abuse scandal, Pope Francis was asked about new revelations in the case of Abbé Pierre, the French priest and founder of the Emmaus Community, who died in 2007 at the age of 94.
As the pope’s trip began, the Emmaus Community announced that new accusations of sexual abuse of women and children had been made against the priest, and French media reported that church officials and leaders of the community had tried to cover up allegations as far back as the 1950s.
“We must speak clearly on these things and not hide them,” the pope said. “Abuse, in my judgment, is something diabolical” because it attacks the sacredness and God-given dignity of another person.
At that point in the Singapore Airlines flight, the pilot interrupted Pope Francis and announced over the loudspeaker that everyone should return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts.
“Your question created some turbulence,” the pope quipped to the reporter.
Nevertheless, the pope remained on his portable chair in the center aisle and continued answering questions.
