Having spent yesterday reading the secular news accounts of Pope Francis’ recent comments about abortion and homosexuality, and having also read reports from the uber-right, it is distressing to see that people either can’t read or can’t think. This Pope is being undermined left and right.
Literally.
For the rest of us, we can read the Holy Father’s interview here.
According to the illiterati, the Holy Father doesn’t think abortion and homosexuality are worthy of much time and attention, and besides, as he has already said, who is he to judge? For the left, this distortion serves the purpose of eliminating the only significant barrier to the homosexualist and abortion agendas: the Roman Catholic Church. For those to the right of Mussolini, it serves to discredit “the Jesuit”.
In context, here are the Pope’s remarks, begining with the interviewr’s question which frames the response:
I mention to Pope Francis that there are Christians who live in situations that are irregular for the church or in complex situations that represent open wounds. I mention the divorced and remarried, same-sex couples and other difficult situations. What kind of pastoral work can we do in these cases? What kinds of tools can we use?
“We need to proclaim the Gospel on every street corner,” the pope says, “preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing, even with our preaching, every kind of disease and wound. In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are ‘socially wounded’ because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this. During the return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.
“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.
“This is also the great benefit of confession as a sacrament: evaluating case by case and discerning what is the best thing to do for a person who seeks God and grace. The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better. I also consider the situation of a woman with a failed marriage in her past and who also had an abortion. Then this woman remarries, and she is now happy and has five children. That abortion in her past weighs heavily on her conscience and she sincerely regrets it. She would like to move forward in her Christian life. What is the confessor to do?
“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.
“The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things: this is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus. We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.
“I say this also thinking about the preaching and content of our preaching. A beautiful homily, a genuine sermon must begin with the first proclamation, with the proclamation of salvation. There is nothing more solid, deep and sure than this proclamation. Then you have to do catechesis. Then you can draw even a moral consequence. But the proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives. Today sometimes it seems that the opposite order is prevailing. The homily is the touchstone to measure the pastor’s proximity and ability to meet his people, because those who preach must recognize the heart of their community and must be able to see where the desire for God is lively and ardent. The message of the Gospel, therefore, is not to be reduced to some aspects that, although relevant, on their own do not show the heart of the message of Jesus Christ.”
Nothing in that quote contradicts the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s own document, Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, promulgated under Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
The Pope is also quite correct in saying that we must first address the wounds of people before hammering away at many of the moral issues, and here is where things get thorny.
Doctrinally, dogmatically, the Pope is on solid ground, a groundwork laid by the giants who came before him, from Pius XI to Benedict XVI. He does not need to reformulate what has been articulated so clearly and beautifully. Francis has been sent to show us how to minister to a broken humanity in a way that may well be alien to those whose only approach is moralizing. It begins with the language he employs regarding accompanying the sinner along the road of his life.
That means accepting the person where they are at and then walking the road with them. It means eating and drinking with those whose behaviors are profoundly disturbing to us. Working with street kids for seven years at Covenant House in the 1980’s was a formative experience for me, especially when so many had worked in prostitution. What moved the kids the most was the fact that we were the first people, for many of them, who were nonjudgmental and simply loved them where they were at.
I get where Francis is going with the Church. If John Paul II and Benedict charted the course, Francis is our guide.
Encyclicals are neat, crisp, and clean. Employing their contents with love and not bludgeoning people into submission with them will be the hallmark of this papacy. It is work fraught with the perils of which the Pope speaks when he talks of confessors being too lax or too rigid.
The same goes for the laity.
To those on the right who fear that the situational ethics that tore the Church apart Post-Vtican II has now made its way to the chair of Peter, they need to breathe deeply and accept authentic pastoral direction from the chief shepherd. After all, the Pope is right, we can’t only and always talk of homosexuality, abortion, and contraception. We must address the woundedness that gives rise to these ills.
We in the pro-life movement have prayed for a cure at the root of it all.
Will we now stop our ears and shout down the answer to those prayers?
Will we?
Coming Home 
I think Francis has a point. I practically hear about abortion, contraception and gay marriage every week at church and never hear about helping the poor or loving the sinner.
Thank you so much for your post Dr. Nadal, God bless you and reward you abundantly.
Reblogged this on News With a Catholic View and commented:
There has been alot of hysteria and confusion concerning the Holy Father’s recent remarks reported in the secular press. This article attempts to lower the decibel level a bit.
Magnificent words of wisdom from our pope. Yours aren’t too shabby either. I am grateful he is addressing this problem bc I am part of a parish suffering from these problems and we shrink ever smaller month by month as our pastor hammers home contraception and marriage issues. He seems to feel that not addressing these weekly is a surrender to the culture and the wing of the church that reduaes ro apeak of them at all. ans the hingey wounded souls leave. it aeems the pope is saying that evangelization must go to people where they are, in their woundedness, and gently uncover the love of God for that person. It is a gradual process with a heirarchy of truths to impart through the inspiration of the Holy Spirt and often through simple acts of kindness and an invitation to dinner.
I appreciate his words…and yours.
We can do well to remember Jesus’ ‘down to earth’ life amidst sinners and his interactions with the Samaritan woman at the well.
I knew making a jesuit the Pope was a red flag. I never here homilies about abortion, gay marriage or contraception. This man is so out of touch. Is there anyway to bring Benedict back? or make Michael Voris the pope?
Jasper, Care to reconcile your two statements??
I was being sarcastic on my first statement. I’m surprised nobody noticed.
I constantly pray for all clerics who strive to walk the words of St. Francis of Assissi (‘preaching the Holy Word of God’) amongst this world’s always and ever-challenged flock!
Yours is one of the few commentaires I’ve read that tackles how both the left & the right are out to make hay from this poor Pope. Thank you!
A nice even-handed commentary. While I agree with the Pope with regard to evangelization, it also appears to me that here in the USA some have been concerned that the moral teachings of the Church have largely been avoided in the pulpit for decades. One Consequence of this has been moral confusion among the faithful. In addition, moral questions are of great concern to many who are seeking to live in accord with God’s Will and commandments. Such people look to priests/bishops to provide guidance in such matters. The clergy have ostensibly spent years studying moral issues, while the laity have expertise in other areas of life. Hence, while it is not appropriate to focus evangelizing efforts solely on issues of morality, those already converted and seeking further guidance should be able to expect that their priest/bishop would be forthcoming in providing such for them.
As is usual, we must ask to whom the Pope was speaking and for what purpose was he speaking. Given the poor catechesis in the Church over the past many decades, I believe some would indeed be concerned that the Pope’s remarks will simply be taken as a reason to continue a catechesis that simply leaves the impression that all is OK as long as you ostensibly love God and your neighbor…no need to be concerned about sex before marriage, living with your boyfriend/girlfriend without marriage, abortions, etc.; no need to go to Confession to a priest or to question yourself as to whether you should go to Communion if your lifestyle is not in accord with the Church’s teachings as long as you have determined for yourself your behavior is not a sin.
We are living in very confusing times…The question remains as to whether or not the Pope’s remarks leave things more clarified or rather more confused.
Gerry, thank you for a wonderfully balanced commentary on the Holy Father’s words. From reading the interview I see the Holy Father is not changing anything from what past popes have written. He is reminding all of us to follow the example of Jesus and sit with sinners in order to preach the Gospel of Jesus. Later we can tell them how authentic Christians imitate Jesus. I think of the woman caught in adultery. He first showed his love and concern for her, and only after her accusers had left told he her that he does not condemn her but to avoid the sin in future.
I’m so glad you explained this.
The pope’s remarks have been interpreted as a landmark act of conciliation, and although some media outlets have promoted his latest comments as a big shift in the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality, the remarks were perhaps more a shift in tone than what has been typical from his predecessors. Indeed, Francis distinguished between homosexual orientation and homosexual acts, highlighting the Church’s universal Catechism; reaffirming that the Catholic Church’s biblical position remained that homosexual acts were sinful, but that homosexual orientation alone was very much different.
[…] your values and watering down the Gospel; this is about meeting people where they are at (Dr. Gerad Nadal has a great piece about that on his […]