Pope Francis Distances Himself Further From the Right in New Interview
America Magazine, a Jesuit publication, has just published a long and fascinating interview with Pope Francis. It seems a remarkably open and searching conversation about his view of the church and his role in it, and covers a huge range of issues, from the role of women to his take on Italian films (Fellini’s La Strada is his favorite). It’s required reading for anyone interested in religion.
There’s grist for plenty of serious analysis which you may soon find on RD, but here are some excerpts to whet your appetite. First, a couple of sections in which he touches on the emphasis that some in the church have placed on abortion and homosexuality:
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. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing….
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.
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