Marvelous prose again, and no Christian could disagree, but the issue to me is: The pope is handing the other side a napalm flamethrower to use against the church. I do not believe it was his intention to do this, and you certainly can't find evidence of it in his writings per se, but that's the way it people take it (not just the MSM).
I’ve been carefully reading the translated interview and copied a few statements that address the issues we’re discussing. Maybe could be used as flamethrowers? One thing, imho, is that avowed deathists or any other glory-in-their-shame-ists will criticized or falsely ump on the bandwagon, one or the other. If he spoke more “harshly” against certain sins, they’d they’d be damning him as a “Hater” and “bigot”. Those who want to be justified in doing evil can never see simple truth, nor be reasoned with.
But God can even touch their hearts, if there’s a little chink some where. Such a person is writing this comment....
Oops, here are some of the statements I referred to, of course read completely in context is best. I think his meaning is clear, and if deathists etc want to imagine that he is saying “Stay as you are, keep on sinning”, they are fooling themselves!
The church’s ministers must be merciful, take responsibility for the people and accompany them like the good Samaritan, who washes, cleans and raises up his neighbor. This is pure Gospel. God is greater than sin.
In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing.
But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.
The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.
But the proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives.
The message of the Gospel, therefore, is not to be reduced to some aspects that, although relevant, on their own do not show the heart of the message of Jesus Christ.”
God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.”