Pope Francis, in the first extensive interview of his six-month-old papacy, said that the Roman Catholic Church had grown “obsessed” with preaching about abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he has chosen not to speak of those issues despite recriminations from some critics.
In remarkably blunt language, Francis sought to set a new tone for the church, saying it should be a “home for all” and not a “small chapel” focused on doctrine, orthodoxy and a limited agenda of moral teachings. “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time,” the pope told the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a fellow Jesuit and editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal whose content is routinely approved by the Vatican. “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.
“We have to find a new balance,” the pope continued, “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 interview was conducted in Italian during three meetings in August in the pope’s spartan quarters in Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse, and translated into English by a team of translators. Francis has chosen to live at Casa Santa Marta rather than in what he said were more isolated quarters at the Apostolic Palace, home to many of his predecessors.
Holy, Holy, HOLY shit!
Hang on, let me get my bearings here.
Is this Pope actually recognizing that the church's homophobia, aggressive anti-contraception, and fanatic anti-abortion stances, are helping to usher in its demise?
Because if he is that would be huge!
If this keeps up I may actually start to like this guy. And that would be virtually unprecedented. Though I have to admit I did have some grudging respect for Pope John Paul.
And if this keeps up the Catholic Church just might be able to evolve enough to survive in America and European countries where there has been a steady decline in those identifying themselves as "Catholics."
Hmm, I am not sure if I think this is good news, or bad news. I think I will reserve judgement for now.
You have to hand it to the Pope, He finally saw the evolution written on the wall.
ReplyDeleteWhen I brought up "divine right of kings" in my parochial school lesson on the infallibility of the pope, I was told that the pope is infallible only in matters of religion. And my response was "and so the rest of the time he's just an old guy mouthing off".
ReplyDeleteOnly an idiot would think religion involves my vagina, so I am more than content to say, "fuck you, old man, I don't care what you think about my vagina". I won't be happy until this guy's ramblings are NOT "news".
Agreed! I simply feel like people need to find their way in life without religion; any of 'em, all of 'em. The mere fact that there is still a Pope means that there are still adherents to religion and that means there are still people that need to learn to think for themselves.
DeleteI feel so sorry for the faithful and know so many people that have become so much happier and more spiritually enriched once letting go of the fairytales.
Everything about this Pope should be taken with a grain of salt. Part of why he was chosen was because he is 76 and won't be in office for too long. He's a transitional figure.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason was because he is from South America, a first. Another first is that he is a Jesuit, an order known for teaching.
He clearly gets the symbolic importance of his decisions - carried his own luggage; stayed the first night at his hotel and not in the Vatican; washed the feet of prisoners during Holy Week, etc.
But he made a strong point from Day One that Church doctrine re: women priests and other progressive ideas were off the table. Then he said he was going to keep the "investigation" of American Nuns for being too liberal going till he could put the hammer down on those brave women.
Some good ideas? Yep. Some bold action? That too. Giant breaks from past Church teaching? Definitely. But he's still a member of the Old Boy's Club that has run the Catholic Church for thousands of years.
Don't get too carried away when he has an idea that resonates well in the 21st Century.
A Fan From Chicago
It must be awful to be considered so low and disgusting that it's a penance for someone to wash your feet.
DeleteAnti-christ! Jack Chick was right! f
ReplyDeleteIS. He's still kicking.
DeleteBill Maher likes this Pope and so do I, even though I'm not Catholic.
ReplyDeleteWith talk like that, he could become Albino Lucinai redux. AKA catching the JPI flu.
ReplyDeleteWould be shocking, but not surprising.
Oops!
ReplyDeleteThat should be "Luciani."
As if it wasn't getting bad enough for the USBishClub:
ReplyDelete"Pope wants 'airport bishops' grounded"
AFP - Pope Francis on Thursday lashed out at what he called the scandal of "airport bishops", urging his peers to remain rooted in their dioceses and spend less time seeking the spotlight.
http://www.france24.com/en/201...
OUCH !
He only said that so they could continue to cover up all the crap that is the RCC. The less spotlights the more they can hide shit.
DeletePope Francis sounds good but he hasn't yet earned the praise he's receiving from so many quarters. His 'softer tone' is meaningless without eliminating harmful anti-women and anti-gay catholic doctrines.
ReplyDeleteHell will freeze over or he'll be offed, like JPI, was before this happens.
DeleteThis is an interesting Pope so far. Let's see how much of a difference he can make in the long run.
ReplyDeleteM from MD
This reminds me of the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper" in which he awakens 200 years in the future. One of his discoveries there is a newspaper headline "Pope's Wife Has Twins."
ReplyDeleteTom, in FL
Remember what happened to John Paul I after he spoke like a reasonable man? I hope Francis has his affairs in order.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he's a swell fellow, but I'll hold back hope, just because he doesn't want to focus on some things, doesn't mean he's changing anything. It means he doesn't have to deal with them every time he makes a speech.
ReplyDeleteLet's not mention Women's place in the church, ("women have a different makeup than men") and by all means, don't mention "pedophile priests".
OT/ Just broke on local news: Mark Kessler's been suspended. Neglected his duties and spent borough money for personal purchases. He showed up armed with a bunch of his armed buddies and his lawyer, says it's not true, he's fired because of his gun worship while in uniform. Kessler's the nutjob police chief from Gilbertson who did the crazy gun you tube videos.
The Fundie Catholic Nazis in the church will whack him for this. Just watch.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Gryphen. I can NOT get excited merely because the guy says he isn't going to CONCENTRATE on those points any longer.
ReplyDeleteHe did NOT say they were no longer doctrine or dogma or anything along those lines. He only said (essentially) they were wasting time HARPING on them.
Everything he mentioned in his discussion is still "off the table" just like women priests and other things he specifically stated were not negotiable. He simply wants priests to spend time on OTHER TOPICS.
History has proven that molasses will run uphill in the winter time faster than the catholic church will change.
Holy Mother of Fuck, this almost makes me want to become a nun. I have worked with lots of nuns and some priests who do work very hard to help the poor and sick. Some of those nuns swear and disagree with much of what the Pope has to say. This Pope seems to be from the faction in the Catholic Church that cares about the poor, they are the good guys, the Catholics I admire. There are some Catholics however that are as nutty and hateful as some other Christians.
ReplyDeleteYou know if there were a church called "The Holy Mother of Fuck" I might actually consider joining it.
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