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It is unlikely that the world has ever seen a pope as Pope Francis. After taking the name of St. Francis of Assisi, who especially cared for the poor, Pope Francis launched into what can only be described as a very interesting papacy. Almost everything he says is immediately launched into public record, mostly because he is the head of the Catholic Church, but also because what he says tends to go against what most people expect from Catholics and the extremely devout.
Pope Francis was ordained in March this year, and in late September he published a long article further explaining some of his most controversial statements, which have concerned, understandably, abortion, homosexuality, and contraception. The “lengthy and self-critical interview” is 12,000 words and in it Pope Francis speaks about himself very honestly, but what really pops out of the article is his vision for the Catholic Church.
“The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently,” wrote Winfield. Many religious sects spend so much time enforcing their rules and telling people how they’re doing things wrong, they forget to extend love and grace. Francis’ goal is to turn the Catholic Church back to Christian care, focusing on the bigger problem (salvation), before drawing any kind of attention to other things (sin). These “small-minded rules”, according to the Pope, have kept the church locked up, away from the message of mercy that Christ’s death brought. These words are powerful, even revolutionary, coming from the man who replaced Pope Benedict, who was urged by American bishops to punish U.S. nuns for neglecting doctrine to take care of the poor (Winfield 2013). Pope Francis has said that the Bible is clear about abortion, gay marriage, and contraception, but that the church as a whole focuses too much on those issues.
All in all, it’s the whole tone that has changed, not the content of the pope’s message. Pope Francis has wasted no time in showing that he cares about different things than his predecessors John Paul and Benedict. Francis seems to know that in order to spread the real message of salvation, the church needs different priorities. “...Priorities that have already been visible in his simple style, his outreach to the most marginalized and his insistence that priests be pastors, not bureaucrats” (Winfield 2013). The trick is in finding people to love, instead of seeing the population as classifications of problems and sins. No one knows what his view of modern love practices like online dating may be. Because he seems to be so cutting edge and innovative, he may embrace the idea as long as believers are being honest and seeking like-minded individuals. No doubt, he would also encourage members at Flatirons Church and other places of worship to use safety above all else. Most likely, he would support dating sites that are authentically Christian owned and operated and sites that carefully screen their members for integrity. Moreover, he probably would celebrate brothers and sisters in Christ meeting and creating unions in order to spread the Kingdom of God. So, it will be interesting to watch Pope Francis to see what other changes he brings to the papacy and the broader world of believers moving forward.
Pope Francis was ordained in March this year, and in late September he published a long article further explaining some of his most controversial statements, which have concerned, understandably, abortion, homosexuality, and contraception. The “lengthy and self-critical interview” is 12,000 words and in it Pope Francis speaks about himself very honestly, but what really pops out of the article is his vision for the Catholic Church.
“The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently,” wrote Winfield. Many religious sects spend so much time enforcing their rules and telling people how they’re doing things wrong, they forget to extend love and grace. Francis’ goal is to turn the Catholic Church back to Christian care, focusing on the bigger problem (salvation), before drawing any kind of attention to other things (sin). These “small-minded rules”, according to the Pope, have kept the church locked up, away from the message of mercy that Christ’s death brought. These words are powerful, even revolutionary, coming from the man who replaced Pope Benedict, who was urged by American bishops to punish U.S. nuns for neglecting doctrine to take care of the poor (Winfield 2013). Pope Francis has said that the Bible is clear about abortion, gay marriage, and contraception, but that the church as a whole focuses too much on those issues.
All in all, it’s the whole tone that has changed, not the content of the pope’s message. Pope Francis has wasted no time in showing that he cares about different things than his predecessors John Paul and Benedict. Francis seems to know that in order to spread the real message of salvation, the church needs different priorities. “...Priorities that have already been visible in his simple style, his outreach to the most marginalized and his insistence that priests be pastors, not bureaucrats” (Winfield 2013). The trick is in finding people to love, instead of seeing the population as classifications of problems and sins. No one knows what his view of modern love practices like online dating may be. Because he seems to be so cutting edge and innovative, he may embrace the idea as long as believers are being honest and seeking like-minded individuals. No doubt, he would also encourage members at Flatirons Church and other places of worship to use safety above all else. Most likely, he would support dating sites that are authentically Christian owned and operated and sites that carefully screen their members for integrity. Moreover, he probably would celebrate brothers and sisters in Christ meeting and creating unions in order to spread the Kingdom of God. So, it will be interesting to watch Pope Francis to see what other changes he brings to the papacy and the broader world of believers moving forward.
