It does not seem that he is used to dealing with parishioners and ordinary people.
Here, I disagree. He spent a great deal of time riding the bus and visiting with the poor in Argentina. For a while, I kept a list of "francisisms", such as:
To newly appointed bishops: "Don't be airport bishops" (bishops who spend too much time away from their dioceses)
To pastors: The Confessional is not a 'torture chamber'
The Sacrament of the Eucharist is not a 'magic rite'
On the need to be politically active: “Don’t respond to the crisis with a Pontius Pilate-like attitude”
To Vatican Police on spiritual war: “Napoleon is not coming anymore”
Pope Francis speaks out against "Christians at half-speed" (one who professes to be a christian but lives like a pagan).
Pope Francis says Confession is not like going to see a psychiatrist
Pope Francis: A bishop is to serve, not dominate
On wanting physical proof: Our Lady doesn't work in a post office, She doesn't mail out letters every day
Pope Francis: our faith is 'not an ornament'
On what it means to be a christian: Do you want to live your life like a burning lamp, or an extinguished one?
The Cross is not an ornament but the mystery of God's love.
Don't live the faith as if it were a non-stop funeral.
Pope Francis: Pray with your heart, not like a parrot
Pope: The Church isn't a rental unit... it's a home
These reflect his approach of expressing church teaching in common terms. Like you, I loved the example of living a truly christian life set by St. JPII and hold Benedict XVI's gift for drawing us deeper into theology. Francis is a conundrum.
It is a conundrum, this immigration/invasion. As A Catholic my heart hurts for these people. What can we do, what should we do? As an American I am upset because I know this is being orchestrated by the other side. They are using these people to create a crisis. This crisis could eventually lead to civil war, martial law, who knows? In the meantime, here on Free Republic it's bash the Catholics number 1 Billion and 2.
I stated before, I will give up politics before I give up my faith. But should we have to? Should those of us who are Catholic just drop out? Most especially those of us on the right who face derision at Church and on here. It's so exhausting sometimes. But then there is the cross and what right do I have to complain? John Paul the Great, Pray for Us!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Also worth pondering is the question as to why the Vatican has reposted that reporter's first interview article in English (containing some confusing, controversial quotes) on the Vatican web site, after it had been taken down for a while (as already pointed out by several other FReepers on various other recent threads) --- see the following link:
In this article you posted here, the author's emphasis on the unusual silence these days among many folks within "the Bride of Christ" reminds me a bit of an old song from the 1960's: