Pope Francis Moves Church Beyond Gays and Abortion – To People
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Pope Francis continues to radically refocus the Catholic Church and, even as a non-Catholic, I am beginning to view him as a personal pastor.
Headlines were splashed on media outlets that reported that the Pope had said in an interview that the Catholic Church was too focused on gays, abortion and contraception.
This is not news to those of us who have been saying that for years. But to hear the head of the Catholic Church say it is like an ecclesial bomb going off that topples much of the edifice that has sustained the more conservative wing of the Catholic Church over the past several decades.
However, Pope Francis' statement begs the question: If the Catholic Church isn't going to focus on those social issues, what will it focus on?
That is the real value of the interview that was conducted by the Italian Jesuit journalist Father Spadaro over the course of three days in Casa Marta, where the Catholic leader has chosen to live instead of the papal palace.
Father Spadaro describes the room like this:
The setting is simple, austere. The workspace occupied by the desk is small. I am impressed not only by the simplicity of the furniture, but also by the objects in the room. There are only a few. These include an icon of St. Francis, a statue of Our Lady of Luján, patron saint of Argentina, a crucifix and a statue of St. Joseph sleeping. The spirituality of Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not made of "harmonized energies," as he would call them, but of human faces: Christ, St. Francis, St. Joseph and Mary.
The description of 'human faces' is the key to understanding the interview, and to the ministry of Pope Francis. The human faces of Jesus, St. Francis, Joseph and Mary matter to the Pope because those faces represent the face of humanity living in this world, many of us broken and hurting spiritually and physically, and who are in need of authentic Good News.
The Pope talks about many things in the 12,000-word interview, but what struck me was the humanizing of the religious endeavor.
Too much of what is done and said in the name of Jesus elevates the blunt and often harmful instrument of tradition or dogma over the actual lives of people who are seeking to know God's love and to feel accepted and respected within the church.
Here is one example from the article involving the reality of gay people who desire to be included in the church:
"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."
This anecdote shows the focus of the Pope, which is on the actual life of the gay person, and how the Pope is more concerned with pastoral care of the person than the correctness of church dogma. "We must always consider the person," as the Pope says.
Many on the Catholic right will be quick to point out the interview does not reveal a major break with Catholic teachings. However, in this interview and in his famous 'who am I to judge?' moment on the papal plane, you can tell the Pope doesn't really object to gay people living out our God-given sexuality.
It is probably because he knows our faces. The pope has met gay and lesbian people who have loving relationships and he respects them and the love they share.
Reading between the lines, the Pope is signaling that old dogma is not as important as the faces of people whose love offers a living refutation of teachings that must be abandoned.
As the Jesuit James Martin, SJ reflected: "Pope Francis's message to gays and lesbians is simple: mercy, mercy and mercy."
The Pope Francis interview is just the latest testimony of this extraordinary spiritual leader radically refocusing the church to see with the eyes of Jesus, who in his time looked into the faces of people who were marginalized as sinners yet called them his beloved.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/pope-francis-interview_b_3956319.html
This article has a video clip included in the original post.
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In 2010, Pope Francis, then known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, wrote a letter to the Carmelite Nuns of Buenos Aires discussing the upcoming vote on gay marriage in Argentina. It deserves to be read in its entirety.
June 22, 2010
From: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires
To: The Blessed Carmelite Nuns of the Archdiocese of Buenos AiresDear Sisters,
I write these lines to each of you who are in the four monasteries of Buenos Aires. The Argentine people will face in the coming weeks, a situation whose outcome may seriously injure the family. This is the marriage bill on same-sex.
Here identity is at stake, and the survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake is the lives of so many children who will be discriminated against in depriving them of the human growth that God would be given to a father and a mother. At stake is the outright rejection of the law of God, also engraved in our hearts.
I remember a quote from St. Therese when talking about his childhood disease. He says the envy of the devil wanted his family to be charged, upon entrance to the Carmel, of his older sister. Here also is the envy of the devil, by which sin entered into the world, who cunningly seeks to destroy the image of God: man and woman who are mandated to grow, multiply and subdue the earth. Do not be naive: it is not simply a political struggle, it is a destructive claim to God's plan. It is not a mere bill (this is only the instrument) but an evil lie – the father of the lie that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.
Jesus tells us to defend ourselves against this accuser, the liar, so that we may send the Spirit of Truth. Today in this country, in this situation, you need the special assistance of the Holy Spirit to put the light of Truth into the midst of the darkness of error; You need His lawyer to defend us from the spell of so many sophistries with which this project seeks to justify the law, and to confuse and deceive even people of good will.
For this I turn to You, and ask for prayer and sacrifice; the two confessed invincible weapons of Therese. Cry out to the Lord to send His Spirit to Senators who have to give their vote. They must not be moved by the error of situations; only the situation of natural law that God's law says. Pray for them, for their families, that the Lord would visit; that He may strengthen and comfort. Pray for them to do much good for the country.
The bill will be discussed in the Senate after July 13. Look to Mary and the Child, and ask Them fervently to defend the Argentinian family at this time. Let's remind what God himself said to His people in a time of great distress: "This battle is not yours, but God's." May they find succor in this defense, and join God in this war.
Thank you for what you will do in this fight for the Fatherland. And, please, I ask you also to pray for me. May Jesus bless you, and the care of the Holy Virgin.
Sincerely,
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ,
Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
Cardinal Primate of Argentina -
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