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Pope Warns Church Focusing Too Much on Gays, Abortion
Francis Sets Out Vision of More Welcoming Church, Less Preoccupied With Doctrine
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Pope Francis warned that the Catholic
Church's focus on abortion, contraception and gay marriage risked
overshadowing its pastoral mission and threatened to bring down the
church "like a house of cards."
The pope's comments, part of a blunt, wide-ranging interview with the Italian Jesuit journal Civiltà Cattolica, didn't mark a break with church teaching. But they appeared intended to nudge the church away from politically charged issues by setting out a vision of a church that is more welcoming and less preoccupied with emphasizing doctrine.
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Zuma Press
Pope Francis, at the Vatican on Thursday, wants a more-welcoming church.
"We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods," said the 76-year-old pontiff, who came to power in March after the sudden resignation of Pope Benedict. "This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that.
"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," he 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."
His comments could signal dissatisfaction with the strong stance some church leaders have taken on the highly charged social issues. For instance, in an interview last week with a local Catholic newspaper, Rhode Island Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said that he was "a little bit disappointed in Pope Francis that he hasn't, at least that I'm aware of, said much about unborn children, about abortion, and many people have noticed that."
Pope Francis warned that the Catholic
Church's focus on abortion, contraception and gay marriage risked
overshadowing its pastoral mission and threatened to bring down the
church "like a house of cards." Deborah Ball reports on the News Hub.
Photo: AP.
Interview Highlights
On Thursday, Cardinal Dolan said that the pontiff's remarks show that "he is a man who profoundly believes in the mercy of a loving God, and who wants to bring that message of mercy to the entire world, including those who feel that they have been wounded by the church."
He added that he welcomed this "reminder that the clergy are primarily to serve as shepherds."
The 12,000-word interview, which touched on personal points such as the pope's favorite composer, artist, author and film (Mozart, Caravaggio, Dostoyevsky and Fellini's "La Strada"), was conducted in August. It was published simultaneously by Civiltà Cattolica and other Jesuit magazines globally on Thursday, and was reviewed before publication by the pope, the first Jesuit to be elected pontiff.
Thomas Groome, a professor of theology and religious education at Boston College, called the comments by the pope a shift away from his predecessors.
"He doesn't want to just harp on birth control and gay marriage, he wants to bring us back to compassion, mercy, outreach to the poor and inclusion of the marginalized," he said.
But Stephen Pope, another professor of theology at Boston College, said he didn't see the pope as scolding the U.S. bishops for the focus on cultural issues. "I don't think Pope Francis would do anything that the bishops would perceive to be undermining their efforts," he said. "They'll probably interpret this as broadening their agenda rather than cutting out their agenda."
Pope Francis, who has eschewed living in the grand papal apartments at the Vatican in favor of a modest guesthouse, has become enormously popular among many Catholics for his human touch. The church is facing a sharp drop-off in membership in the face of rising secularism and increased popularity of evangelical churches.
While he has affirmed Catholic teachings, he has opened the door to members of groups who have at times struggled in their relationship with the church, such as gays and women.
In the interview, the pope expanded on comments he made in July regarding homosexuals. On a return flight from a trip to Brazil, he said, "Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?"
In the magazine interview, the Argentine-born pope said, "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."
He also suggested a reconsideration of the role of women in the church. While he didn't address the church's teaching that women can't be priests, he said "women are asking deep questions that must be addressed."
"The woman is essential for the church," said the pontiff. "We must therefore investigate further the role of women in the church."
The interview was remarkable for its candor and length. The remarks will likely reinforce Pope Francis' image as a leader more concerned with the pastoral role of the church and impatient with the shortcomings of the institution.
The comments were in line with the pope's thinking as a top prelate in Argentina. In an interview shortly after the new pope was picked earlier this year, one of his former top aides in Argentina said the pontiff was grounded in the everyday lives of his parishioners that gave him a healthy distance from the doctrinal debate in Rome.
"Someone who is behind a desk in Rome, they aren't even having Mass with the people," the former aide said. "They are totally cut off. We have the people in front of us all the time."
The pope has signaled plans to shake up the Vatican's hidebound and fractious bureaucracy that has given rise to a series of financial and personal scandals in recent years.
"The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules," he said.
When asked how he viewed himself, he answered, "I am a sinner. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner."
Some more personal comments are likely to further endear the pope to Catholics who have already cheered his folksy manner. The pope has eschewed more regal clothing worn by his predecessors and has been photographed carrying his own luggage on trips. He has even taken to personally making calls to people who have written to him recounting their problems.
—David Luhnow contributed to this article. Write to Deborah Ball at deborah.ball@wsj.com and Jennifer Levitz at jennifer.levitz@wsj.com
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LI Confidential
> Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
HI-
Thanks for the help. The item’s
below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing
address.
Claude
Solnik
(631)
913-4244
Long Island Business
News
2150
Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma,
NY 11779-7348
Home >
LI Confidential
> Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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