Photo courtesy of abcnews.go.com
Pope Francis said that media coverage that depicts him as a “superman” is “offensive” because he is just a “normal person.”
The pope spoke to an Italian newspaper just a week before the first anniversary of his election as the first pope from Argentina. He has quickly become enormously popular for his common touch and orders to other church leaders to take a more humble approach.
Francis, however, bristled at the adulation he has received.
“Depicting the pope as a sort of superman, a sort of star, is offensive to me,” Francis said.
“The pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps well and has friends like everyone else; a normal person,” he said.
Speaking in the interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera about the myth-making of his persona he explained, “I like to be among the people, be together with those who suffer, visit parishes,” but he also debunked one story about him.
“Like when it is said, for example, that I leave the Vatican at night to go to distribute food to the homeless. It never crossed my mind. Sigmund Freud said, if I am not mistaken, that every idealization is an aggression,” he said.