Papal biographer to appear on '60 Minutes' with excerpts from film

By Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis, the subject of a new documentary by German filmmaker Wim Wenders, will appear on the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” in excerpts from the movie, “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.”

CBS is airing a second hour of “60 Minutes” May 13. The segment featuring the pope will be shown during the second hour, 8-9 p.m. EDT.

CNS News correspondent Jon Wertheim interviews Wenders as part of the segment.

In a 101-second excerpt from the segment furnished by CBS, Pope Francis is seen in one section of the documentary commenting on the rush of everyday life.

“We live with the accelerator down from morning to night,” the pope declares in Spanish, with English subtitles. “This ruins mental health, spiritual health and physical health. More so: It affects and destroys the family. And therefore society.”

Pope Francis quotes from Genesis to buttress his case: “‘On the seventh, day, he rested.’ What the Jews followed and still observe, was to consider what is holy. On Saturday you rest. One day of the week, that’s the least! Out of gratitude, to worship God, to spend time with the family, to play, to do all these things.

The pope concludes: “We are not machines!”

It appears as if Pope Francis is talking to viewers directly into the camera. This is courtesy of the Interrotron, a device invented by U.S. documentarian Errol Morris for some of his works. The “60 Minutes” segment demonstrates how it works: The interviewer’s face — in this case, Wenders himself — is superimposed over the camera lens, and the pope is responding to his questions. The film notes said Wenders had submitted 50 questions in advance for Pope Francis to consider answering during four interviews that took place over the course of two years.

Asked by Wertheim if the pope realized “how intimate this was going to look,” Wenders replied, “Oh, yes. He understood this whole system really well, and stuck to it, and did it perfectly.”

Wenders, whose films include “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Paris, Texas,” “Wings of Desire” and U2 concerts and videos, added: “He didn’t want to have anybody else” accompany him during the interviews. “There was no wardrobe, there was no makeup, no props. He came, and we started shooting.”

“Pope Francis: A Man of His Word” was to have its world premiere May 13 at the Cannes Film Festival in France. It is slated to be released in U.S. theaters May 18.