11/25/2014, 00.00
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Pope: dialogue with ISIS is "difficult, if not almost impossible, but the door is always open"

Speaking to reporters on the plane that took him back to Rome, Francis said, "There is the threat of these terrorists . . . but there is also another threat, state terrorism [. . .] with terrorists many who are innocent also fall [. . .] slavery is a part of today's social fabric. Slave labour, human trafficking, child trafficking. [. . .] It is a tragedy. Let us not close our eyes on this! [. . .] Going out to find people and talk is what Europe needs today."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Dialogue with ISIS may not be possible. It may "be difficult, if not almost impossible, but the door is always open;" in fact, "I never give up," said Pope Francis when a journalist accompanying him on his brief visit to Strasbourg asked him about the issue.

The question-answer session on the plane taking him back to Rome touched a variety of issues, like terrorism but also "transversality", which the pontiff addressed during his speech before the Council of Europe, as well as the painful news about three priests arrested in Spain on paedophilia charges.

"I never give up," the pope said when asked about the threats of terrorism and slavery, which he mentioned in Strasbourg, and the possibility of dialogue. "Dialogue might prove impossible . . .  But I never close the door. It might be hard, almost impossible, but the door is always be open, right?"

"You used the word threat twice," the pontiff told the reporter. "It is true. Terrorism is one of the many things that threaten us. But slavery is part of today's social fabric. Slave labour, human trafficking, child trafficking. . . . It is a tragedy. Let us not close our eyes to this! Slavery today is a reality, people exploitation . . .".

"There is the threat from these terrorists . . . but there is also another threat, state terrorism. When things build up, up and up, and each State, on its own, feels entitled to massacre the terrorists . . . with terrorists many who are innocent also fall . . . And such high level of anarchy is very dangerous. We have to fight terrorism, but let me repeat what I have [already] said: When one has to stop an unjust aggressor, one has to do it with an international consensus. No country has the right on its own to stop an unjust aggressor."

"The issue of transversality is important," he said in response to another question. "I noticed from discussions with young politicians, from different parties and countries, here and in the Vatican, that they follow a different tune, tending towards the transversal. This is valuable."

Young politicians "are not afraid of going beyond their affiliation without denying it, in order to engage in dialogue. They are courageous and I think that we must do the same, including in terms of intergenerational dialogue. Going out to find people and talk is what Europe needs today."

As for reports about priests arrested in Granada, the pontiff said, "I received the news directly addressed to me. So I called the person and told him: 'You, tomorrow go to the bishop'. And I wrote to the bishop. I told him to hear the complaint and begin immediately to work on it. I felt great sorrow. But the truth is the truth and we must not hide it."

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