Pope Bluntly Faults Church’s Focus on Gays and Abortion

[DonViejo]

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: September 19, 2013

Pope Francis, in the first extensive interview of his six-month-old papacy, said that the Roman Catholic church had grown “obsessed” with preaching about abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he has chosen not to speak of those issues despite recriminations from some critics.

In remarkably blunt language, Francis sought to set a new tone for the church, saying it should be a “home for all” and not a “small chapel” focused on doctrine, orthodoxy and a limited agenda of moral teachings.

“It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time,” the pope told the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a fellow Jesuit and editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal whose content is routinely approved by the Vatican. “The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.

“We have to find a new balance,” the pope continued, “otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?_r=0

[Bluenorthwest]

1. In Argentina he was a fire breathing anti gay activist, called marriage equality

the work of the devil and 'an attack on God' and he said that adoptions by gay parents is 'a form of child abuse'. As if his clerical class has any standing to speak of child abuse.
He strikes me as a man who will say anything to sell himself to people. That's about it.

[DonViejo]

2. Read the entire article...

you'll encounter statements such as this:

The 12,000-word interview ranges widely, and may confirm what many Catholics already suspected: that the chameleon-like Francis bears little resemblance to those on the church’s theological or political right wing. He said some people had assumed he was an “ultraconservative” because of his reputation when he served as the superior of his Jesuit province in Argentina. He pointed out that he was made superior at the “crazy” young age of 36, and that his leadership style was too authoritarian.

“But I have never been a right-winger,” he said. “It was my authoritarian way of making decisions that created problems.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

[Sanddog42]

3. Whether he's sincere or not...

I approve of the way he's using the bulliest of pulpits to steer public sentiment.

[MNBrewer]

4. This obsession with homosexuality came largely from his predecessor

God's Rottweiler Ratzinger. I'm glad Bergoglio realizes that it's 2013, not 1413.

[backscatter712]

6. Francis lightened up!

Granted, he still has quite a few attitudes that still need to be brought from the 14th to the 21st century, but he's a huge improvement over Maladict!

[joeybee12]

5. This, IMHO, is a trial balloon...

He says the focus must change, not the actual stand against both...I think he's trying to see how this goes down.

[uriel1972]

7. Let's not change the policy, let's just change the PR...

I will wait for positive action. I still think he's window-dressing for the audience.

[joeybee12]

8. Yeah, I'll need to see more than this before I think

he's all that much different from the others.

[Old Union Guy]

9. He may be less "obsessed" with homosexuality, but don't kid yourself ...

... there is no change in doctrine here.

None.

He just wants to talk about something else for a change.