The first time of a Pope on TV

Pope Francis is a guest of the first tv broadcast in Italy

The first time of a Pope Francis on TV

Rai1 Rome Bergoglio on the Rai1 broadcast, a sua immagine: the first time that a Pope participates in a television broadcast

The news of Pope Francis' first time on television bounces on all the news and newspapers, obviously even before it was broadcast because the episode of the broadcast was recorded. On the Sunday morning of June 4, I almost forgot about this event but the remote control goes by chance on TV channel number 1 and so I see an hour of broadcasting with the Pope.

A beautiful event even if not exactly striking. It will probably have been a historic event but at least for me it has not caused a stir. Pope Francis has accustomed the faithful to many extraordinary things starting from visiting the poor in soup kitchens, making phone calls to private individuals up to firsthand confessions in St. Peter's Square. Furthermore, the broadcast has for years been the religious showcase of state TV, albeit unofficial, which every Sunday broadcasts stories, tales and debates by guests to tell stories from a Catholic background. In fact, the program was born from the collaboration between Rai and the Italian Episcopal Conference, and is broadcast on Rai 1 every Saturday at 4.00pm and every Sunday at 10.30am. So it is not surprising that a Pope has visited the transmission par excellence of the Catholic Church and the Vatican, also because the transmission anticipates the airing of the Angelus every Sunday.

The interview with Pope Francis was recorded in Saxa Rubra's studio and aired on Sunday 4 June 2023 on Rai 1. In the study I was present important guests and very relevant to the Holy Father. The parents of the little girl who lost her life in the Gemelli hospital in Rome were present when the Pope was hospitalized for respiratory problems. Also present was a nun who took her vows after working as a computer engineer, a girl who was bullied, a young man who after a turbulent childhood now runs 5 kindergartens for poor children around the world and the athletics champion Fausto Desalu. There was therefore talk of the strength to react to the pain due to the disappearance of a daughter, the call of the lord, bullying and spirituality in sport. But above all the most relevant themes were two: the war and the apparitions of the Madonna. Pope Francis has said about war that it is a horrendous thing because with it everything is lost and nothing is gained. On the other hand, regarding the apparitions of the Madonna, he affirmed that not all of them are true. "When Marian devotion is centered too much on itself, it's not good - Bergoglio said on Rai Uno during the broadcast 'a sua immagine' -, both centered on the Madonna and on those who see. Don't look there, because that is an instrument of devotion that is not always true. Sometimes they are images of the person. There are images of the Madonna that are true, but the Madonna has never attracted her to herself. I like to see the Madonna like this, with her finger pointing upwards Jesus".

The interview with Pope Francis was recorded in Saxa Rubra's studio and aired on Sunday 4 June 2023 on Rai 1. In the study I was present important guests and very relevant to the Holy Father. The parents of the little girl who lost her life in the Gemelli hospital in Rome present when the Pope was hospitalized for respiratory problems. Also present was a nun who took her vows after working as a computer engineer, a girl who was bullied, a young man who after a turbulent childhood now runs 5 kindergartens for poor children around the world and the athletics champion Fausto Desalu. There was therefore talk of the strength to react to the pain due to the disappearance of a daughter, the call of the lord, bullying and spirituality in sport. But above all the most relevant themes were two: the war and the apparitions of the Madonna. Pope Francis has said about war that it is a horrendous thing because with it everything is lost and nothing is gained. On the other hand, regarding the apparitions of the Madonna, he affirmed that not all of them are true.

"When Marian devotion is centered too much on itself, it's not good both centered on the Madonna and on those who see. Don't look there, because that is an instrument of devotion that is not always true. Sometimes they are images of the person. There are images of the Madonna that are true, but the Madonna has never attracted her to herself. I like to see the Madonna like this, with her finger pointing upwards Jesus".

It was a Sunday out of the ordinary. It is obvious that there will have been quite a few critics of the event. And there always will be. In my opinion in this case the criticisms are really out of place. For me, who have known the television program since it was created, it has always amazed me that a Pope did not visit the programme. And instead I read comments on social media where it was even insinuated that the presence of a Pope on a television broadcast is very self-centered. It is obvious that rai1 is part of a state TV and today more than ever there is a need for a television as impartial as possible. But it is also true that the Pope only visited the studies of the transmission which every Sunday anticipate his angelus. Furthermore, rai is not lacking in pluralism because on the other two networks (rai 2 and rai3) another religious program is broadcast, Protestantism, which, as it is easy to imagine, interposes itself in antithesis to Catholic Christianity. Obviously there are also other criticisms but in general it can be said that those who are atheists stick to everything that does not fall within their canons while those who are faithful to the more traditional nuances of Wojtyla ​​and Ratzinger see Pope Francis as too revolutionary.

With this event, my wish is that there will be a resumption of peace as soon as possible, which the Pope has always wished for, hoped for and even wanted. And it is also hoped that some Marian communities, which are emphasized by supernatural events, do not obscure the true meaning of faith, which is not that of tangible proof but of love and charity.