Review of the Pope's Latest Comments

Wow.  Just Wow.

Have you read this?



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

As someone who was baptised and confirmed in the Catholic church, someone who was forced to sit through all of the CCD classes from childhood to my teenage years, I never thought a Pope would say the things stated in this article.

The Catholic church sometimes has a rather conservative hardcore reputation.  You may think of nuns slapping their student's hands with rulers, or Catholic children reciting their prayers over and over in order to pass their confirmation classes.  Then there is the more notorious side of the Catholic church with priest scandals, declarations against homosexuality and abortion.  You may have heard the statistics that the Catholic church is steadily losing members.  Maybe you associate it with an institution and not a church at all.

Then the current Pope comes out with this amazing article in the New York Times, addressing why he hasn't made comments about homosexuality and abortion.  From the article:

Francis told the interviewer, a fellow Jesuit: “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. 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.

“I see the church as a field hospital after battle,” Francis said. “It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars. You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else.”

It wasn't a new doctrine.  He wasn't saying that Catholics should change their views on these sorts of issues.  Instead, he made an amazing statement about love, hope and expanding the church from a few to many.

“A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality,” he told Father Spadaro. “I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person.” 

Wow.  Seriously.  For me, this is an amazing message of hope, a step in the right direction of preaching and teaching love above anything else.  And notice how he speaks.  He isn't condemning, or even changing the vision of the Catholic church.  He's reaching out to the hurt in a way that is kind and respectful.

This is what I've talked about in the past, especially when I wrote my blog on homosexuality.  We can disagree about issues, but it's how you present your arguments that causes conversation or shouting.  I believe the Pope started a conversation, one far over due in the Catholic church.