What do you think of the Pope's new interview about Abortion, Birth Control and Gays...

afrenchprincess · September 2013

What is your opinion of Pope Francis' interview? I have read many people applaud him for seeming to be more forward thinking and progressive. What do you take from this interview about gays, birth control and abortion?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?pagewanted=2&utm_campaign=FB&utm_medium=urlshortener&_r=1&utm_source=nar.al

monkeysip · September 2013

"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.”

This is his actual quote from the interview.

He's not saying that the Church needs to alter its teachings on any of these issues, but he is saying that some people in the Church focus ONLY on these issues, as if they were the only teachings that matter.

The Church needs to teach about the broader context of God's love and how morality comes from that love. You cannot separate out the issues of gay marriage, birth control, etc. from the many other issues of charity and justice that christians need to be teaching because they're all connected. They all come back to loving God and loving our neighbor.

I think he's completely right, but unfortunately, the media does like to spin every single thing he says in distorted way. Now there are people on the other side celebrating Pope Francis for supposedly relaxing the Church's teachings on this issue, but Francis said these issues are "clear". There is no debate about whether they're true, but Catholics need to focus on other important issues too, primarily LOVING others despite their sinfulness. The Church is a hospital for sinners after all.

afrenchprincess · September 2013

I LOVE your response! I think I need to post it to people that are saying other wise!

chelseamb11 · September 2013

Yeah Monkeysip summed it up perfectly. It drives me up the wall when the media and other people take his words and spin them to what they want his words to mean. The Church isn't going to budge on her teachings, but I love that he is bringing so many current issues to light (people not being open/welcoming enough, being too focused on certain issues but not others, etc)

ootmother2 · September 2013

I adore the new pope and his stance on many social issues and not making them Church issues.

He's not forcing the Church back into the Dark Ages and I'm afraid many have tried in the past.

agapecarrie · September 2013

Don't quote NY. times. They are a joke when it comes to this stuff. The headline itself is sensationalist...oh yea... and a LIE. He never said that.

Read what he actually says. The interview article is long, but incredible.

So far, the pope hasn't change a bit of church doctrine. He can't, and he won't

lalaith50 · September 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/09/18/is-the-world-making-an-idol-of-pope-francis/

ootmother2 · September 2013

agapecarrie said:

Don't quote NY. times. They are a joke when it comes to this stuff. The headline itself is sensationalist...oh yea... and a LIE. He never said that.

Read what he actually says. The interview article is long, but incredible.

Thanks hon, I did read the article in the NYT in full as well as two other independents. The NYT in no way tried to restate what the pontif said. I might point out that the paper and many of it;s writer have been claiming international awards for longer than any of us have been alive. Yes, I have seen them leak news life the Pentagon Papers but never have seen them rewrite news to suit their purpose.

I still agree that the importance of our religion lies not only in our vocalizing our stand against abortion and our personal stands against same sex marriage and, for those in their productive years, their family planning. That, however, is not all that we hold true an I'm happy to see that the pope agrees that it does not signify all of Catholic beliefs.
So far, the pope hasn't change a bit of church doctrine. He can't, and he won't. I don't idolize him but I certainly do admire him. Being stuck on those three topics does not make one Catholic. Try rereading the Aposle's Creed. ywia

agapecarrie · September 2013

Don't patronize me, "hon" and I wasn't addressing you specifically anyway.

And rather instead of reading other's take on the interview. Read the ACTUAL interview. All MSM is distorting their headlines terribly to sensationalize it.

And the NYT DID lie. He did not say what the headline said he did.

agapecarrie · September 2013

Read the 3 different headlines the NYT have tried to use with this article.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/steven-greydanus/go-home-new-york-times-youre-drunk

mommapizano · September 2013

I am glad the Pope is taking the Church in a new direction. He is not saying teaching should change, I think he made that clear but the media is twisting his words, but I love that he is refocusing the efforts and direction of the church to focus on God's love and helping/loving people. @monkeysip really emphasized this.

I feel like so many people only see the controversial hot button issue stances of the church and Pope Francis is moving away from mostly focusing on those.

professorscience · September 2013

mrspizanotobe said:

I am glad the Pope is taking the Church in a new direction. He is not saying teaching should change, I think he made that clear but the media is twisting his words, but I love that he is refocusing the efforts and direction of the church to focus on God's love and helping/loving people. @monkeysip really emphasized this.

I feel like so many people only see the controversial hot button issue stances of the church and Pope Francis is moving away from mostly focusing on those.

This. The Pope isn't saying anything new -- and the Church isn't the only one who focuses on abortion/gay marriage/birth control. It's easy to jump on one or two church teachings that you don't like and say, "This is all the church focuses on," or, "This is why Catholics are so backward." Our focus on things like helping the poor don't get attention because that's not controversial.

Grabows14 · September 2013

I think it's great that he is really trying to push the social issues that could make the world a better place, like helping the plight of the poor and starving. There are a lot if things that the church does right, but unfortunately people only want to focus on the negative. I'm not saying that there aren't problems in the Catholic Church, but it's wonderful to see someone say "hey, we can sit here and argue all day about x, Y and z; or we can do something that we both agree that needs to be done and help a, b, c..."

What do you think of the Pope's new interview about Abortion, Birth Control and Gays...

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