Pope Francis appeals for more inclusive Catholic church during Ecuador visit

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Pope Francis appeals for more inclusive Catholic church during Ecuador visit

Reuters in Guayaquil
Monday 6 July 2015 23.57 BST

Pope Francis has used his first mass in Ecuador to ask for support in his efforts to reach out to Catholics who feel shunned by the church when the world’s bishops gather at the Vatican in October.

Speaking to 800,000 people on the first leg of his “homecoming” tour of South America, the 78-year-old pope weaved his homily around the theme of the family, which will be the subject of the monthlong synod at the Vatican.

The meeting is expected to discuss ways to reach out to Catholics who have divorced and remarried outside the church. Under current rules, they are prohibited from receiving communion unless they abstain from sexual relations.

The gathering is also expected to discuss how the church should reach out to homosexual Catholics.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/pope-francis-message-inclusive-catholic-church-ecuador-visit

[AtheistCrusader]

1. Pope small carbon footprint flying around with his entourage and armored motorcade again?

Color me surprised.

[trotsky]

2. There's GOTTA be a way for an org that officially teaches...

that homosexuality is "disordered" to be more welcoming to homosexuals, right?

Well, I mean other than changing the teachings, of course. I mean, c'mon, that's totally off the table.

[Lordquinton]

3. All while pushing his anti-gay agenda

Another month long synod on the family? Didn't they get enough done the first time? Well, they got nothing done the first time, so I assume the same will happen now.

[onager]

4. Well, he's got a BIG problem with declining sales in that market.

Evangelical "garage" churches are growing in Latin America while the Catholic market share is shrinking. So all these Papal visits are just the religious version of TV commercials.

Sort of like the competition between McDonald's and Burger King. Except those companies don't threaten you with frying for eternity like one of their shitty burgers if you buy the wrong product.

In Ecuador, indigenous Christians not sold on pope visit

Llamahuasi (Ecuador) (AFP) - Thirty years ago, Gustavo Negrete took his wooden cross and joined other indigenous Ecuadorans to greet Pope John Paul II. But he has no interest in seeing Pope Francis on Sunday.

Like a growing number of indigenous people in Latin America, Negrete has turned his back on the Roman Catholic faith that was violently forced upon their ancestors by Spanish conquistadors...

When John Paul visited Ecuador in 1985, 94 percent of the population identified as Catholic. Today, 80 percent of the country's 16 million people are Catholic.

Pope Francis "is going unnoticed today in indigenous communities," Negrete told AFP, as he held his Bible.

"The concept that we had in that era -- that a representative of God was coming -- no longer exists," he said...

Memories of his father, who worked in a farm whose owners forced him to convert to Catholicism, also influenced his decision.

http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-indigenous-christians-not-sold-pope-visit-114211460.html

[goldent]

5. Good for our super Pope -- I like it!

[cbayer]

6. That's good, but not nearly far enough.

I will celebrate when he recognizes GLBT families.

[gcomeau]

7. Ooh! Ooh! Ask me!

The meeting is expected to discuss ways to reach out to Catholics who have divorced and remarried outside the church. Under current rules, they are prohibited from receiving communion unless they abstain from sexual relations.

The gathering is also expected to discuss how the church should reach out to homosexual Catholics.

Stop actively demonizing them almost every time you bring them up!

Oh, not going to do that? Well... good luck with that then...

[MellowDem]

8. Excluding women from church leadership...

Isn't too inclusive.

[Act_of_Reparation]

9. Well, it is inclusive...

...insofar as everyone is welcome to sit their asses down in a pew, shut the fuck up, and put money in the plate when it is passed around.