CALM DOWN folks!!!
Read his entire message, not the NYT editing of individual sentences.
Jesus spoke to Mathew about love and mercy (prodigal son), not angrily saying DAMN YOU. Mercy comes with repentance...
It seems clear to me that certain posters only seek to criticize and demean anything from the Catholic Church, regardless of context or truth.
There are also some posters who only seek to criticize Pope Francis, for any number of reasons.
How about reading the interview, it is long, I know, to understand what the man says, and not some hack at the NY Times, CNN, etc.
Finally, if you heard the exact same homily every Sunday, such as “Fornication, abortion, sodomy, and divorce are bad,” wouldn’t you get a little tired of it? Wouldn’t you rather hear the Church welcomes divorcees? Please go to confession, either live celibately or regularize your marriage. Or how about, we all deal with sin, mortal sin. Jesus offers His infinite mercy to you. Admit your sin, be confirmed He can forgive you, and change your life.
There is no controversy in anything he said.
His welcome would have been different had he spat in his father's face and demanded that he also eat from the swine's trough.