ROME — Pope Francis suspended his usual meet-and-greet with pilgrims Wednesday, following criticism of mixed messages coming out of the Vatican regarding how to deal with ongoing coronavirus restrictions.
“I would like to go down and approach you to greet you as I usually do,” the pope told the hundreds of people assembled in Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for his weekly general audience.
“But with the new prescriptions, it is better to keep a distance,” the pontiff said from the stage, referring to recent decrees calling for outdoor mask wearing. “I also warmly greet the sick from here. You are at a prudent distance, as is to be done.”
“It happens that when I come down, everyone comes and crowds around and the problem is that there is a danger of contagion,” he added. “So, everyone with a mask, keeping our distance, we can go on with the audiences.”
“Sorry if today I greet you from afar, but I believe that if we all, as good citizens, comply with the prescriptions of the authorities, it will help to end this pandemic,” he concluded.
Pope Francis (R) addresses his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on October 14, 2020. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty)
Last week, the Associated Press (AP) noted an apparent double-standard as the unmasked pope continued to greet the faithful while urging others to comply with government regulations.
“The Vatican imposed an outdoor mask mandate this week in the tiny city state in the center of Rome,” the AP stated. “Pope Francis, however, didn’t wear a mask during his indoor general audience Wednesday, even as he greeted well-wishers and shook their hands.”
After the audience, the pope kissed babies, signed memorabilia, and shook hands with pilgrims, much as he does in ordinary times.
During the coronavirus lockdowns, however, Francis insisted on obedience to political leaders, who this week extended Italy’s state of emergency to 2021 and imposed outdoor mask-wearing on the entire country.
Last June, Francis had sharp words for “disobedient” priests who continued to say public Mass for the faithful and to hear confessions during the coronavirus lockdown, accusing them of behaving like “adolescents.”
A Vatican Gendarmeria Police officer wearing a face mask looks on during Pope Francis’ weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on October 14, 2020. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
While praising “the pastoral zeal and creative concern of priests” who helped people during the lockdown, the pope drew the line at those who flouted civil decrees calling for the suspension of the sacraments.
“In a few cases, this priestly creativity turned into adolescent expressions of rebellion against the regulations of the authorities, who have an obligation to safeguard the health of the people,” Francis said, “But most were obedient and creative.”
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