Posted on 09/19/2013 2:46:04 PM PDT by SkyPilot
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis has warned that the Catholic Church's moral structure might "fall like a house of cards" if it doesn't balance its divisive rules about abortion, gays and contraception with the greater need to make it a merciful, more welcoming place for all.
Six months into his papacy, Francis set out his vision for the church and his priorities as pope in a lengthy and remarkably blunt interview with La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine. It was published simultaneously Thursday in Jesuit journals in 16 countries, including America magazine in the U.S.
John Allen, a senior correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, told CBS Radio News the pope is not changing church policy but makes it clear that he wants a less judgmental church.
"I think he is conscious that he's at a sort of make-or-break moment where the kind of pope he wants to be - if he wants to affect real change - he's got to be explicit about it," Allen said.
Play Video Pope's comments on gays could have ripple effect
Play Video Cardinal Dolan: Pope's views on gay priest are not a shift in church teaching
In the 12,000-word article, Francis expands on his ground-breaking comments over the summer about gays and acknowledges some of his own faults. He sheds light on his favorite composers, artists, authors and films (Mozart, Caravaggio, Dostoevsky and Fellini's "La Strada") and says he prays even while at the dentist's office.
But his vision of what the church should be stands out, primarily because it contrasts so sharply with many of the priorities of his immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. They were both intellectuals for whom doctrine was paramount, an orientation that guided the selection of a generation of bishops and cardinals around the globe.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Absolutely. For those who’re not yet attuned: the MSM is doing a classic “divide and conquer” attempt, in that it’s bending over backwards to portray Pope Francis as “good, nice, warm, low-key, poor-in-spirit, sensitive, understanding, reasonable [read: LIBERAL] breath of fresh air”, as opposed to that “mean, vicious, stodgy, rule-bound, living-high-off-the-hog, liberal-bashing meanie [read: CONSERVATIVE] whom he replaced”.
They’re hoping that the big lie, when repeated enough (and with an eager MSM to twist, edit, misquote, strategically place quotation marks to blend Pope Francis’s words with those of a CNN editor, etc.), and when combined with some carelessness in Pope Francis’s casual way of answering interviews, will become so entrenched in everyone’s mind that NO ONE—not even fair-minded people—will be able to read/hear Pope Francis without becoming wary either of Pope Francis or of Pope Benedict XVI.
Can we say “fait accompli”? It’d really be best if conservatives didn’t fall for this, hook, line and sinker.
“Can we say “fait accompli”? It’d really be best if conservatives didn’t fall for this, hook, line and sinker.”
Safe to say, it will really not happen.
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- Fine robes, gold and silver, living in a palace
- Just like Jesus lived
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Our nation has been breached, and now the Church too. As a Catholic and an American, I feel abandoned and betrayed. I hate to say that, but it's really how I feel right now.
I have never met a person who worships popes. No doubt you move in different circles than I do.
1.Get deep into your "Hermeneutic of Suspicion" mode.
2. Immediately, if not sooner, put a big ol' set of parentheses, followed by a question mark, around these elements:
3. Remember that even the best journos are rushing to make a deadline and often get stuff wrong through sheer haste and inadvertence.
4. "Stuff" includes botched translation from the Italian original, omitted key portions of the quote, ignored context, and hashed theology.
5. I actually once read in a newspaper account that the book being read from the church lectern was the "Axe of the Apostles."
6. The deeply-missed Chuck Colson once stressed that we need to be "Salt and Light" (a well-known Jesusy phrase) and was misquoted as saying we need to "assault the light" (!)
7. When nearing total panic or bafflement, get the straight scoop from the wonderful GET RELIGION blog, which specializes in analyzing the MSM spin, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/
Now go forth and untangle that spaghetti!
The Church is not our mother, it is the fellowship of the saved. As such, the Church calls no one; but God calls all to himself through his Son by his Spirit, to Him.
That said, the Church can be said to be like a mother in some ways.
Should we equate The Catholic Church with The Church?
:) Milady, you are one of my heroes!
(I’m still praying for your health intentions, by the way!)
God is ridged, absolute.
He hates sin.
He loves us.
Lol! Excellent post!
;-)
They are welcome to come, but that's different from giving them full voting privileges in the congregation, or putting them into a leadership position.
One Presbyterian theologian marked the fall of the Presbyterian denomination at the date of their last heresy trial. If you have a faith that doesn't define heresy, you don't have much of a defined faith at all.
From the comments of some here, it seems that only non-sinners are welcomed in their church, not those seeking salvation, repentance, and forgiveness.
You say ‘welcome to come’ but then appear to say “we won’t let you be a member” and talk about internal church policy. I believe the Pope is talking about the church writ large. Thus micro versus macro, in a sense. And I don’t get involved in individual church operations in these forums. Marantha
Nothing but ambiguity from the Pope from the beginning.
We shall see. When will this trend stop?
I do not believe it will.
They see how the anti-Christian MSM warps the statements to be pro (insert sin here) and thus cause internal discent for Christians, and especially give those who do not like Catholics the “ammunition” to attack the Pope and Roman Catholicism. BTW, I’m NOT a Catholic
The old joke, “Is the Pope Catholic?” has become a real question.
seems like the “gay cabal” is running the pope in order to impose advocacy of hedonism.
What next? The Vatican Cathedral and Orgy Palace?
By no attention to the homosexual, abortion crazy media. They misconstrue every word the Pope says.
http://www.catholicleague.org/pope-comments-on-abortion-gays/
Bill Donohue comments on remarks by Pope Francis that were made last month in a three-part meeting in Rome with Catholic journalists; they were published today by America magazine:
The New York Times issued a “Breaking News Alert,” followed by a story, “Pope Bluntly Faults Church’s Focus on Gays and Abortion.” Here is what the pope said: “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible.” He also said, “when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context.”
The pope is right that single-issue Catholics need to rise above their immediate concerns. He did not say we should not address abortion or homosexuality; he simply said we cannot be absorbed by these issues. Both the left and the right should heed his message.
The article in the New York Times says U.S. bishops will feel the pinch of these remarks as they often appear “to make combating abortion, gay marriage and contraception their top public policy priorities.” This is inaccurate. It is not the bishops who have made these issues front and center—it is the Obama administration. It would be more accurate to say the pope would find fault with the bishops if they did not resist these state encroachments on the religious-liberty rights of Catholics.
The pope also said the Church should be a “home to all” and not a “small chapel.” He did not mean by these words, as the Times alert said, that these remarks were a criticism of focusing on “doctrine, orthodoxy and a limited agenda of moral teachings.” In the previous paragraph, he speaks about “the sanctity of the militant church.” In the same paragraph where he mentions “small chapel,” he cites the “negative behavior” of priests and nuns, saying their conduct is that of an “unfruitful bachelor” and a “spinster.” He did not say what the Times attributed to him.
The pope wants us to reject abortion, and to help women who have had one to find peace with God. He wants us to reject gay marriage, but not gays because they are gay. Kudos to Pope Francis.
“the mystical dimension of the Church” is a good point. Coming as a life long Protestant, I’ve grown into seeking the mystical dimension and delving into the long history Christianity and the writings of the Saints.
I agree. They keep hoping for a bear that uses the Men’s room.
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