I seem to remember that some where, in church and Sunday School I was admonished to “love the sinner and hate the sin.” If I, as a person cannot do that, cannot God? Jesus and God loves us, despite our sins. We have the obligation to repent our sins for salvation. I see the Pope’s words as saying the same thing: God loves each of us, but not our sins. And he was not avoiding the question, but turning it on the hostile questioner, something I remember from logic and rhetoric class in college 45 years ago and have used it when appropriate.
“I see the Pope’s words as saying the same thing: God loves each of us, but not our sins.”
Could you point to the specific quote from the Pope, where he is loving we sinners, yet not our sins.
Perhaps I missed this part, but he seems to be calling for balance, where the weights are measured against Christian morals. The “balance” was JPII and Benedict.