Pope Francis again made an astonishing statement. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the Argentine Pope explained his belief in God. "I believe in God, but not (to) the Catholic God," the Pope told the founder and former editor of La Repubblica daily, Eugenio Scalfari. Scalfari who was quite surprised to get a personal interview with the Pope, was increasingly surprised by the statement. Then Scalfari asked the Pope to elaborate on his statement. "God is not Catholic, God is universal, and we are Catholics because of the way we worship Him," the Pope said. Moreover Pope Francis explained that as a Catholic leader he believed in God and Jesus Christ as the incarnate Lord. "Jesus is my teacher and leader, but God, Father, is light and the Creator is what I believe in. Do you think our beliefs are so different?" the Pope asked Scalfari. The 76-year-old whale adds that he does not always agree with what has been the standard of the Catholic Church. "The Vatican centrist view has ignored the world around us, I do not agree in this way, and I will do anything to change it," the Pope insisted. Ever since he was elected leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis proved to be a liberal pope. In fact, he is more lenient on things that the Vatican has been strongly opposed to such as homosexuality and atheism.

This article has been published on Kompas.com under the title "Pope Francis: I Believe God, but Not Catholic God", https://international.kompas.com/read/2013/10/08/2338024/