"Non temo nulla, agisco in nome e per conto di nostro Signore. Son' un incosciente? Difetto di un po'di prudenza? Non saprei cosa dire. Mi guida l'instinto e lo Spirito Santo."
Being a mere convert, and not even a Beda man, my Italian is extremely poor. I append below the best translation I can manage, after much labour, of these recent words of PF, in the hope that a competent linguist will be able to correct any nuances I've got wrong.
So here goes.
"I do not have the faintest idea about the nature of the Office I hold. I simply regard it as a sort of nursery playpen in which I can throw my toys around, or smash them up, whenever and however the mood takes me. Waaaaaahhh ... "
I have no Italian, but my trusty Google translate says that those words mean:
ReplyDelete"I fear nothing, I act in the name and on behalf of our Lord. Am I unconscious? Failing a little prudence? I don't know what to say. Instinct and the Holy Spirit guide me."
This might be a 'dynamic equivalence' translation.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha
ReplyDeleteI am not afraid of anything, I act in the name and on behalf of our Lord. Am I irresponsible/reckless? Do I lack a little prudence? I don't know what to say. I am guided by instinct and the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Google translate is a competent linguist.
should we all pray for his conversion daily?!
ReplyDeleteThere are two basis parental approaches when dealing with a two-year-old who throws a tantrum: 1) severe scolding or 2) ignore totally. I wonder which approach would be better in this case?
ReplyDeleteMy take on it is similar in substance but slightly different in nuance:
ReplyDelete"I'm completely out of my depth and frankly haven't got a clue most of the time, but as I think that being pope means all my words and actions must be divinely inspired, I can say and do whatever I want whenever I feel like it and it'll be OK. So don't worry about it. I'm not."
In my humble opinion, that was an excellent translation, even capturing those nuanced bits. I accept it as part of his magisterium.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Jones
Father, the accuracy of your translation from Italian into English rivals that of the ICEL "experts" who translated the Norvus Ordo from Latin into English in the early 1970's.
ReplyDeleteThe Pope provides the perfect insight into what is actually transpiring and without realizing it allows the future to judge his administration justly. The broken clock is on the button twice a day.
ReplyDeleteYou appear to have received an unlikely gift of the Holy Spirit unawares: the interpretation of one who is practicing γλωσσολαλία.
ReplyDeleteThen why did he accept the office. Makes one very skeptical about this whole papal play pen.
ReplyDeleteWe now have a solution to the confusing statements of this pope: "Instinct and the Holy spirit guide me". So when he contradicts Catholic teaching, he is guided by instinct and not by the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely dead on the mark, Father - carry on, and may God bless you!
ReplyDeleteIn the interests of grammatical accuracy, "saprei" is in the conditional tense. So PF's words do not mean: "I don't know what to say" (in answer to the accusation that I am reckless and somewhat lacking in prudence) , but rather: "I would not know what to say" (about anything important, so I rely on my instincts and the help of the Holy Spirit). But what this candid little statement does clearly imply is that someone close to the throne has recently told him, probably in no uncertain terms, that he is being a reckless and imprudent pope. Unfortunately it seems to have fallen on deaf ears - 'Don't blame me, blame the Holy Spirit!'.
ReplyDeleteIn the interests of grammatical accuracy, "saprei" is in the conditional case. So PF's words do not mean: "I don't know what to say" (in response to the accusation that I'm reckless and a bit imprudent), but rather: "I would not know what to say" (about anything of substance, which is why I rely on my instincts and the help of the Holy Spirit). But what this candid little statement does clearly imply is that someone close to the throne recently sat him down and told in, probably in no uncertain terms, that he is being a reckless and imprudent pope. Unfortunately it appears to have fallen on deaf ears - "Don't blame me, blame the Holy Spirit!".
ReplyDeleteShaun Davies has it right. Unlike most of those who have commented, I think Pope Francis says here what any pope would say.
ReplyDeleteHe does not claim infallibility for his decisions. It seems however many times he repeats this, his opponents obdurately refuse to hear him. I see this as due to the desire of some (mislabelled "conservatives") to construct a rigid shell, not as they claim to protect the Church but to keep God safely confined where he cannot disturb them by His demands.
Irony, innit?
ReplyDeleteExcellent translation Father, as it captures the "spirit" of what PF said -- a spirit not unrelated to the "spirit of Vatican II."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Fr Hunwicke would agree with E sapelion that Pope Francis does not claim "infallibility" for his decisions. Indeed he is careful not to. As I understand it, Fr Hunwicke's and other conservatives' argument is that it is those who are pursuing the liberal progressive agenda who rush to play the "infallibility card" on anything PF utters which may mark a movement away from traditional Church teaching. As to what extent PF is "in on" this strategy I could not possibly comment.
ReplyDelete