Pope Francis shrugs off fears of split with hardliners

Pope Francis has said he does not fear a schism within the Roman Catholic Church, as criticism grows among conservatives of his liberal views on migrants, the protection of the environment and giving communion to 
divorcees.

Speaking on the papal plane on his return from a trip to Madagascar, Mauritius and Mozambique, the Pope said he had been unfairly labelled “a communist” by his critics, with the most vocal being conservative Catholics in the United States.

In his strongest remarks yet on the risk of a schism, he said there had been many doctrinal splits during the 2,000-year history of the Church, although he prayed there would not be another.

“I am not afraid of schisms. I pray there will be none, because what is at stake is people’s spiritual health,” he said.

The Pope’s impassioned defence of migrants and refugees, his opposition to Donald Trump’s wall on the US-Mexico border, his sympathy towards 
 homosexuals and his openness to remarried divorcees being allowed to take communion have made him the focus of conservative ire, particularly in the US.

He said he was open to discussing differences of opinion with his critics, some of whom have accused him of heresy and called for his resignation.

“Let there be dialogue, let there be correction if there is an error, but the schismatic path is not Christian,” he said, adding that his critics were putting ideology over Catholic doctrine and deserved sympathy, not hostility.

Pope Francis insisted that many of his views were similar to those of Pope John Paul II, who is regarded as an icon by conservatives, in part for his role in standing up to the USSR and bringing about the fall of Communism.

He claimed he was happy for critics to address him openly, but condemned those who launched attacks in an underhand way. He said: “I don’t like criticism when it’s under the table, when they smile at you and then they try to stab you in the back.”

♦ The Pope has accused Britain of placing greed over humanity and being 
 uncivilised after refusing to hand over a disputed island archipelago to Mauritius. A UN motion in May called on Britain to relinquish sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, but it has not done so.