The Vatican denies that Pope Francis gave the soon to be 94-year-old Eugenio Scalfari, founder of Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper, an interview, noting it was only a private meeting, and that therefore anything published regarding an alleged interview is not reliable nor can be believed to be the Pope’s words.
Yesterday, Greg Burke, issued the following statement: “Recently, the Holy Father Francis received the founder of the Italian daily La Repubblica in a private meeting, on the occasion of Easter, but without granting him an interview.”
“What the author refers to in today’s article is the fruit of his reconstruction, in which the textual words pronounced by the Pope are not quoted.”
“Therefore,” the Vatican Press Office director concluded, “no quotation in the said article must be considered as a faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words.”
