Well everybody should be aware by now about the interview
Pope Francis gave to the Jesuit News and what he said in that interview that
resounded all over the world and especially in the Catholic world.
I am becoming more and more impressed with this man every
day. The emphasis is on the word “man” because he does not hold himself up to
be something more than a man as other popes have and that is a very telling characteristic
of this pope.
What did he say that made every Catholic take notice? He
said enough with this war on abortion, gay marriage and contraception; we are
more than just those issues, we are a church; a welcoming church.
In this Sunday’s New York Times, Frank Bruni (gay Catholic)
wrote a great piece called THE POPE’S RADICAL WHISPER where he revels in the
pope’s humility and humanity.
In the interview, Francis made clear that the flock harbored
as much wisdom as the shepherds…really? He presents himself as a person that
does not have all the answers and one who is not afraid to say “who am I to
judge” when asked about gay priests.
I listened to the reactions especially here in the U.S. and
from the U.S. cardinals who have been total assholes when it comes to those
issues Francis said to downplay. They said that Church teachings have not
changed (which they have not) trying to defend their pompous position on those
issues for all these years while neglecting what Francis calls, the true
mission of the Gospel and Christ and that is to tend to their flocks.
I am anxiously awaiting his future pronouncements on the
direction he wants the church to take. What a breath of fresh air finally being
blown into that dark cauldron of evil called the Vatican.
For those who know Catholic history, the choice of St.
Francis as his namesake is very deliberate. St. Francis was all about humility
and tending the poor but he also challenged the behavior of the men at the
Vatican and called for reform in the church which has grown rich, fat and
corrupt.
The times are similar and the church desperately needs
reform but is stubbornly resisting any reform hiding behind their cloak of infallibility
and superiority as if they alone communicated with god and therefore were privileged
with the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong…so much horseshit and
after all these many centuries…
Francis may be a real saint coming to rescue the church from
receding into oblivion because it no longer is relevant in people’s lives.
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