Reposted from ohnotheydidnt
To say that I am (pleasantly) shocked by this announcement would be to understate things radically:
Hell may have officially frozen over.
In an interview with La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine, released earlier this morning, Pope Francis urged followers to make the Catholic Church a more merciful and welcoming place for all. Then he issued a warning: If the church neglects to find a “new balance” regarding gays, abortion, and contraception, its moral foundation will “fall like a house of cards.”
Said his holiness: “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage, and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. 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 continued by saying that some members of the church have become “obsessed” with these issues. “The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things,” he lamented, “in small-minded rules.”
But this isn’t the first time Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through the Catholic Church in regards to his thoughts on homosexuality.
Two months ago, he caused a stir during an inflight news conference when he was asked about gay priests. “Who am I to judge?” he replied. Then he added: “As long as they are searching for God and have good will.”
Francis noted in his latest interview that he was merely repeating a church teaching.
He continued: “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?’”
“This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all,” he said, “not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people.”
We never thought we’d say this, but… Amen!
Read more at ONTD: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/81676067.html#ixzz2fMyq39g6
Hell may have officially frozen over.
In an interview with La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine, released earlier this morning, Pope Francis urged followers to make the Catholic Church a more merciful and welcoming place for all. Then he issued a warning: If the church neglects to find a “new balance” regarding gays, abortion, and contraception, its moral foundation will “fall like a house of cards.”
Said his holiness: “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage, and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. 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 continued by saying that some members of the church have become “obsessed” with these issues. “The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things,” he lamented, “in small-minded rules.”
But this isn’t the first time Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through the Catholic Church in regards to his thoughts on homosexuality.
Two months ago, he caused a stir during an inflight news conference when he was asked about gay priests. “Who am I to judge?” he replied. Then he added: “As long as they are searching for God and have good will.”
Francis noted in his latest interview that he was merely repeating a church teaching.
He continued: “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?’”
“This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all,” he said, “not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people.”
We never thought we’d say this, but… Amen!
Read more at ONTD: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/81676067.html#ixzz2fMyq39g6