Pope Tells Boy Facing Eviction: "It's Not Easy to Answer Why Bad Things Happen"

BARCELONA — Pope Leo XIV faced some of his toughest questions yet during a visit to a poor Barcelona neighborhood. His questioner was Renzo, a six-year-old boy whose family is about to be evicted from their home. The Pope met with social groups at the Sant Agustí church in El Raval, a district with the highest poverty rate in Barcelona. But the most memorable moment came from Renzo. The boy recorded a video showing his mother and grandmother worrying about their housing situation. They cannot pay the rent and may lose their home. In the video, Renzo wrote a letter to the Pope. He read it to him in person. The boy started with simple questions, like whether the Pope wanted to be Pope as a child. "I don't think so," the Pope answered in Catalan. "But I can tell you this: as a child, I felt the desire to give my life to God." Then Renzo asked harder questions. Should we always forgive? Why are there so many homeless people? Why do his parents suffer so much? "It is not easy to find an answer to your question," the Pope admitted. The Pope told Renzo that God does not abandon anyone, even in suffering. He said forgiveness does not mean forgetting or letting someone continue to cause harm. "Forgiveness means not letting hate become the master of our hearts," he said. The Pope also spoke about caring for the elderly. He said older people should never be left alone. "Just as they once cared for us, we must care for them in their old age," he said. Behind the church, nuns from Mother Teresa's order run a mission. They serve 400 to 500 meals every day to poor and homeless people. A Filipino community also helps, running food programs and job services. Many of them have cared for the church for years. But of the 600 people allowed inside for the Pope's visit, only two were from the Filipino community. Most had to watch from outside.