Top story on Google News and CBS
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THAT should be a clue right away as to the authenticity of the “reporting.”
LOL...they want so desperately to have us believe that he has a different vision than Benedict or John Paul II...or that he is changing Church teaching.
He lines up perfectly with his predecessors and has not changed any Teaching of the Church.
Unfortunately...some very foolish people believe whatever they hear or read...even if it comes from CBS or any other pathetic source.
Sigh...
Thank you all for your reasoned words.
Direct quotes. You should read them.
“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!”
I will blame the media for a lot of things, but not this story.
The Pope's own quotes are used in the story, and not out of context.
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!