“I mention to Pope Francis that there are Christians who live in situations that are irregular for the church or in complex situations that represent open wounds. I mention the divorced and remarried, same-sex couples and other difficult situations. What kind of pastoral work can we do in these cases? What kinds of tools can we use?
“We need to proclaim the Gospel on every street corner,” the pope says, “preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing, even with our preaching, every kind of disease and wound. In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are ‘socially wounded’ because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this. During the return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.
“A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. 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. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. 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.
“This is also the great benefit of confession as a sacrament: evaluating case by case and discerning what is the best thing to do for a person who seeks God and grace. The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better. I also consider the situation of a woman with a failed marriage in her past and who also had an abortion. Then this woman remarries, and she is now happy and has five children. That abortion in her past weighs heavily on her conscience and she sincerely regrets it. She would like to move forward in her Christian life. What is the confessor to do?
“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. 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 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. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things: this is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus. We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.
“I say this also thinking about the preaching and content of our preaching. A beautiful homily, a genuine sermon must begin with the first proclamation, with the proclamation of salvation. There is nothing more solid, deep and sure than this proclamation. Then you have to do catechesis. Then you can draw even a moral consequence. But the proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives. Today sometimes it seems that the opposite order is prevailing. The homily is the touchstone to measure the pastor’s proximity and ability to meet his people, because those who preach must recognise the heart of their community and must be able to see where the desire for God is lively and ardent. 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.”
From http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20130919_1.htm
We - all who claim to follow Christ - are under attack by homosexuals. The idea that marriage involves more than a right to fun is under heavy attack, and is about to go under. And what does Pope Feel-Good say?
“In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are ‘socially wounded’ because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this. During the return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.”
All he had to say was something like, “We love our fellow man and fellow sinners, but we need to tell them the truth - you cannot come to God unless you repent. You must take your sin seriously, because God does. God loves us while we are yet sinners, but He does not love our sin or give it an easy excuse. And no one is truly happy in their sins.”
But that might make some unhappy, so the new Pope won’t tell them the truth. He thinks the Gospel is “Sin on, Brother!”
Modern man is rushing to a hell they don’t believe exists, while worshiping the God of Nike: “Just do it!” And the Pope is content to say, “Yes, do it!”
“A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. 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?’
Why did he change the subject, rather than answer the question directly? He seems to be implicitly accepting the proposition that rejecting someone's acts as immoral is rejecting the person himself.
I'm not impressed.
thank you for the insight-
I do not trust ANY of the media to correctly
address what he is trying to say- -
The pope must take a stand on the ultimate truth
of the scriptures and commandments!
God looks for ALL sinners to come to Him-!
AND we ARE ALL sinners-!
I wish he would say this loudly!- Pope Benedict
Did! - was he forced out?- did God tell him to leave?
over 600 years ago a pope was forced out because of
a schism (multiple popes)— but this came as a surprise
to all (insiders will not say)-
MAN, oh man, if I could write and “end Time Trilogy”
!!! between O’bummer, the New pope, the ascendency
of EviL! what a story I could make up!
++But that might make some unhappy, so the new Pope won’t tell them the truth. He thinks the Gospel is “Sin on, Brother!”++
_____________________________
He thinks no such thing. He doesn’t preach it either.
++Modern man is rushing to a hell they don’t believe exists, while worshiping the God of Nike: “Just do it!” And the Pope is content to say, “Yes, do it!”++
The Pope says NO such thing.
Sigh....
Good grief! (Face palm...)
Maybe you aren't sir, but the God who you claim to serve and represent here on Earth is and He does judge. And in His Word (Genesis ch 19 & Romans ch 1) he makes it unmistakably clear that homosexual acts are sinful. Gen ch 19 clearly shows that homosexual acts committed by Sodom's and Gomorrah's inhabitants were the primary reason why it was necessary for God to destroy those cities and all their inhabitants. Also, in Romans ch 1 Paul tells us that the universal practice of homosexual acts by both sexes were the main reason why God destroyed the antediluvian world and all it's people except Noah and family with a global flood.
As for abortion, any medical doctor who knows enough to be licensed as a physician knows very well that aborting an unborn human being in his or her mother's womb is nothing less than premeditated murder for hire of an innocent human being.
If this Pope doesn't believe that abortion is murder and/or that homosexual acts are gross sin I don't believe it was the same God who I know and worship who chose him for that high office.