Pope Francis Calls for More Compassionate Church
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Dan Kitwood/Getty Images(ROME) — The pope seems to be shifting a new course for the Roman Catholic Church. In a blunt new interview published Thursday in Jesuit journals around the world, Pope Francis declares the church needs to shake its obsession with issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.
Some in the church have criticized the pope for not speaking out more forcefully on these issues. But Pope Francis appears utterly unswayed, saying the church has become “obsessed” with “small-minded rules,” and that it must be the “home of all, not a small chapel that can only hold a small group of selected people.”
As shocked as some may be by the pope’s comments, there are others who are energized by signs the pope could be influencing change in the church.
“I thought the interview was awesome. I was absolutely delighted when I read it,” said Father Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter.
“Too long we’ve been a nagging parent, and what he wants the church to be is a compassionate loving church which reminds people that we’re all brothers and sisters,” Reese said.
Reese welcomed the simplicity and clarity of Pope Francis’ message, saying he was “absolutely delighted” by the pope’s candor regarding such issues.
Father Matt Malone, who is editor at the Catholic Jesuit weekly magazine America, agreed and said the pope’s statements have “opened the door to a conversation.”
The release of the pope’s interview comes just weeks after he was asked by a reporter on the plane ride home from a visit to Brazil about homosexuality. His answer: “Who am I to judge?”
In the interview, Pope Francis explained to Italian Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica that the church needs to “find a new balance.”
“…[O]therwise 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 pope said.
The Catholic League president, Bill Donahue, said critics of the pope’s wish to shift course on such controversial issues are overreacting and suggested that any change brought on by Pope Francis’ statements would be less than extraordinary.
“Yes, he wants to make some changes in the church, but it’s not going to be the kind of glacial dramatic changes some people are reading into it,” Donahue said.
“Too many people are hyperventilating on both the left and the right,” he said. “This Pope Francis is refreshing. He’s different from his predecessors. He’s provocative. He’s got a great different style to him, but at the end of the day, there are no doctrinal changes.”
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