Pope
Francis
Pope
Francis has said the Catholic Church is too focused on preaching about
abortion, gay people and contraception and needs to become more merciful.
He warned
that the Church's moral structure could "fall like a house of cards"
unless it changed.
The Pope
used the first major interview of his papacy to explain comments he made in
July about homosexuality.
He told a
Jesuit magazine the Church must show balance and "heal wounds".
The pontiff
used the 12,000-word interview with La Civilta Cattolicato to set out his
priorities as Pope, acknowledge his own shortcomings and open up about his
cultural interests.
'Freshness
and fragrance'
His vision
for relegating the Catholic Church's reliance on rules marks a contrast to the
priorities of his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who saw doctrine
as the paramount guide for clergy
"The
church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a
disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently," Francis
said.
"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."
Instead, he
said, the Catholic Church must work to heal the wounds of its faithful and seek
out those who have been excluded or have fallen away.
"It is
useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about
the level of his blood sugars," he said. "You have to heal his
wounds. Then we can talk about everything else."
He said the
Church had become tied up in "small-minded rules" and risked losing
its true purpose.
"The
most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And
the ministers of the Church must be ministers of mercy above all.''
His remarks
are could generate dismay among clergy in the United States who have already
expressed disappointment that Francis has not pressed Church teaching on
abortion, contraception and homosexuality.
Last week,
Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, wrote in his diocesan
newspaper that he was "disappointed" Francis hadn't addressed
abortion since his papacy began six months ago, according to AP.
Francis
said it was not necessary to speak out on such issues.
'Home of
all'
"We
cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of
contraceptive methods. This is not possible,'' he said.
"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.''
Francis
created headlines two months ago when he spoke about gay priests during an
impromptu news conference on a return flight from Brazil. He said it was not up
to him to judge about the sexual orientation of clergy as long as they were
searching for God and had goodwill.
In his
latest interview, Francis said his remarks were in line with Catholic teaching.
"This
Church with which we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel
that can hold only a small group of selected people. We must not reduce the
bosom of the universal Church to a nest protecting our mediocrity,'' he said.
Francis
also used the interview to detail his favourite composers, artists, authors and
films, which include Mozart, Caravaggio, Dostoevsky and Fellini's La Strada.
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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.
There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.
It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness. …”
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