ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM CUBA (CNS) – Speaking to reporters flying with him from Cuba to Washington, the pope was asked about comments, mainly from the United States, claiming the pope is a communist and about the Newsweek headline, “Is the pope Catholic?”
“I am certain I have never said anything more than what is in the social doctrine of the church,” he responded. “I follow the church and in this, I do not think I am wrong.”
“Maybe I have given an impression of being a little bit to the left,” the pope admitted. “But if they want me to recite the Creed, I can!”
Pope Francis also referred to the social teaching of the church when asked about the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba. The social doctrine is critical of economic embargoes, especially those that last for years, because of their impact on the poor.
But he said he did not intend to discuss the Cuban embargo in his speech to the U.S. Congress, but he would talk more in general of the importance of bilateral agreements to promote progress, and peace.