Pope Francis has a new interview in La Repubblica. It may be even more controversial than his recent interview in Jesuit periodicals. Here are fifteen important quotes from the new interview:

The most serious evils afflicting the world

“The most serious of the evils that afflict the world these days are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old. The old need care and companionship; the young need work and hope but have neither one nor the other, and the problem is they don’t even look for them anymore. They have been crushed by the present. You tell me: can you live crashed under the weight of the present? Without a memory of the past and without the desire to look ahead to the future by building something, a future, a family? Can you go on like this? This, to me, is the most urgent problem that the Church is facing.”

On proselytism

“Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.”

Following one’s conscience and pursuing the good

“Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.”

Universal brotherhood and sisterhood

“The Son of God became incarnate in the souls of men to instill the feeling of brotherhood. All are brothers and all children of God.”

Agape as the path to salvation

“Agape, the love of each one of us for the other, from the closest to the furthest, is in fact the only way that Jesus has given us to find the way of salvation and of the Beatitudes.”

The danger of narcissism

“(Narcissism) indicates an excessive love for oneself and this is not good, it can produce serious damage not only to the soul of those affected but also in relationship with others, with the society in which one lives. The real trouble is that those most affected by this –which is actually a kind of mental disorder—are people who have a lot of power. Often bosses are narcissists.”

Upending the Vatican-centric view

“This Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us. I do not share this view and I’ll do everything I can to change it.”

On clericalism

“It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical.”

The necessity of mysticism

“A religion without mystics is a philosophy.”

On grace

“Grace is not part of consciousness, it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason. Even you, without knowing it, could be touched by grace.”

His vision for the Church and Vatican II

“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace. Vatican II, inspired by Pope Paul VI and John, decided to look to the future with a modern spirit and to be open to modern culture. The Council Fathers knew that being open to modern culture meant religious ecumenism and dialogue with non-believers. But afterwards very little was done in that direction. I have the humility and ambition to want to do something.”

On changing the way the Church operates

“The first thing I decided was to appoint a group of eight cardinals to be my advisers. Not courtiers but wise people who share my own feelings. This is the beginning of a Church with an organization that is not just top-down but also horizontal. When Cardinal Martini talked about focusing on the councils and synods he knew how long and difficult it would be to go in that direction. Gently, but firmly and tenaciously.”

The nature of politics

“I say that politics is the most important of the civil activities and has its own field of action, which is not that of religion.”

On the light of God

“God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it does not dissolve it, and a spark of divine light is within each of us. In the letter I wrote to you, you will remember I said that our species will end but the light of God will not end and at that point it will invade all souls and it will all be in everyone.”

Against libertarianism

“Personally I think so-called unrestrained liberalism only makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker and excludes the most excluded. We need great freedom, no discrimination, no demagoguery and a lot of love. We need rules of conduct and also, if necessary, direct intervention from the state to correct the more intolerable inequalities.”