Pope Bluntly Faults Church's Focus on Gays and Abortion

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JoeCarpenter said:
I know that pro-life abortion clinic protesters have the best intentions and believe they are offering those women hope, but that is not how it looks to the outside. And although I don’t have personal experience, I doubt that is how women seeking abortion see it. How many abortions are prevented because a woman sees the protesters, feels willing to talk with them and changes her mind? I don’t know for sure, but it is hard to imagine that is happening.
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People who pray the Rosary outside the Planned Parenthood are not protesting, they are peacefully praying. And there are many cases people changed their minds after talking to them. Just tonight a nun came to our parish to do fundraising for their charity house where the unmarried women are taken in with their newborn babies. The sister read us a letter from a girl who stayed in their house saying talking to people who prayed outside the abortion clinic changed her mind and she gave birth to her son.
 
The Church preaches the Gospel at every Mass. Every day. Rarely do I ever hear a homily about the topic of homosexuality, abortion or contraception. Catholics who think that the Church focuses only on those “big 3” issues are only following politics, and/or have their own agendas. I also doubt they are in the pews week after week. I don’t like the way Pope Frances chose his words. There are a lot of faithful Catholics who are doing a lot of good at changing abortion laws and people’s opinion about abortion. They should not be, in so many words, told to pipe down.

In fact, our local 40 Days for Life group “saved” a baby when the mother went into the abortion clinic and saw the prolifers praying outside. She had a change of heart and had a beautiful baby girl. Then that group hooked her up with supplies and money to help out with expenses. So prayer does work. So Prolifers are not ONLY just about “when the baby is a fetus in the womb.”
 
CaliLobo said:
Yes! Looks like Francis is finally bringing changes to the Catholic Church that are sorely needed.

Without these changes, people like JoeCarpenter are leaving the Church in droves.

I have said many times in previous threads that the CC overemphasizes political advocacy against gay marriage and abortion rights. But what the CC needs to focus more on is preaching the Gospel.

Preaching the Gospel is the best and only way to change people’s behavior. Not meddling into politics.

If the CC doesn’t change, it will still survive, but only as a tiny, remnant, irrelevant church.
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Do you not think a fundamental respect (and love) for life and the dignity of every human person are part of the Gospel? Are St Paul’s remarks about our bodies being temples not to be preached in a relevant way?

It seems to me that people are upset because the church has tailored the Gospel message for today and it turns out that people don’t like this whole “love thy neighbour” thing when thy neighbour is an inconvenience. They don’t like the whole temple of the Lord thing when it restricts what they get to do with “their” temple.

With all due respect to Joe, perhaps the scruples he currently has with the church are forcing him to think about the value of the human person in a deeper way and so indirectly, perhaps the church is doing him, formatively, a great good.

To quote Chesterton:

“We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. We want a religion that is right where we are wrong.”
 
CatholicHockey7 said:
Just because it doesn’t look like they’re hurting doesn’t mean they’re not. Francis is echoing a church teaching that goes back to this really great teacher named Jesus. You may have heard it expressed recently as, “love the sinner, hate the sin.”

He wants to invite everyone to join us at mass. Catholic means “universal.” How are we a universal church if we keep our doors closed and never invite the world in to learn what we truly believe?

If people don’t agree with the Church, they probably won’t stay very long. Just because they continue to live in sin does not automatically mean they disagree with the Church. I struggle daily to live up to Christ’s standards. That doesn’t make me any less Catholic when I fail. It just makes me human and in need of Christ’s divine intervention for the salvation of my soul.

These people who are involved in abortions and homosexual acts are just more in need than most. It’s our job to show them love, and in doing so open their eyes to the truth that all human life is precious and that God loves us IN SPITE OF our sins (which He detests).
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Jesus also said go forth and sin no more. I am not condemning, I am not judging, but I also am very concerned about the homosexual agenda. I’m afraid I’m also a sinner and I acknowledge that in the confessional. That is where their return to the church needs to begin.
 
polki said:
The Church preaches the Gospel at every Mass. Every day. Rarely do I ever hear a homily about the topic of homosexuality, abortion or contraception. Catholics who think that the Church focuses only on those “big 3” issues are only following politics, and/or have their own agendas. I also doubt they are in the pews week after week. ** I don’t like the way Pope Frances chose his words.** There are a lot of faithful Catholics who are doing a lot of good at changing abortion laws and people’s opinion about abortion. They should not be, in so many words, told to pipe down.

In fact, our local 40 Days for Life group “saved” a baby when the mother went into the abortion clinic and saw the prolifers praying outside. She had a change of heart and had a beautiful baby girl. Then that group hooked her up with supplies and money to help out with expenses. So prayer does work. So Prolifers are not ONLY just about "when the baby is a fetus in the womb."
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Although I do not belong to the 40 Days for Life group, I constantly heard similar stories from our local 40 Days for Life.

The Pope knows well his words will be twisted yet he freely says words he knows will be twisted. I just don’t understand.
 
migueltojose said:
I don’t think it was an olive branch. It was the truth. There’s no conflict between these quotes and the interview widely circulated from the other day…
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I agree that it was no olive branch, I disagree that there is no conflict between those quotes - or at least, I disagree that I can see there is no conflict. I think the Holy Father is theologically sound, I can see no evidence to the contrary. However, as I stated in an earler post, I am confused by the comment that the church is obsessed with abortion. Can you explain it to me?
 
rafarose said:
I feel slightly discouraged, as a university student and a daughter, my family had always said that I was overtly involved with the pro life movement to a point that I was “obsessed”
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I would take comfort in knowing that maybe because of you and your friends, and the grace of God, there are children in the world today who may go on to have* descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky*, all because of your “obsession”. John Paul II called abortion an “unspeakable evil”. Any effort to combat an “unspeakable evil” cannot be a waste of time!
 
Reading the recent posts confirms my own views expressed earlier:

(1) having attended Mass in Britain, Australia and the USA for almost 30 years now, I have never heard a homily on abortion, gay marriage or contraception. If the Church is obsessed with these issues, I have never heard it in Church.

(2) In the past 3 days, I have had gloating/sneering comments from liberal friends and colleagues, who think the Pope has up-ended the Church’s teachings on these and other areas.

(3) Friends of mine (and me) who go into our normal lives as virtual apologists for the Church on these issues have all discussed how we feel that the Pope has abandoned us as “small minded” and almost Pharisees for defending the Bible and the Church’s historic teaching.

It may be that Pope Francis meant well and meant to not say what has been interpreted. But by his verbal incoherence the Pope has given a free kick to cafeteria Catholics, to Nancy Pelosis and Joe Bidens, and more or less abandoned his own soldiers fighting the good fight.

What serious Catholic, fighting for the Faith in a hostile environment, now think that he or she has the same support of the current Pope as was had under Popes JPII and Benedict?

Pope Francis needs better advisors, better advice and he needs to be realistic about what he is doing. If he and his advisors think it is a winning strategy to abandon faithful and fighting Catholics to appease the NY Times and the gay lobby, then he needs all of our prayers more than I thought he did when he said “who am I to judge?”.

The Pope is meant to be God’s messenger whatever the consequences, not God’s editor for a liberal, first world audience.
 
It has become crystal clear to me that this media knows exactly what it’s doing! Just have a look at this thread and all the other threads involving this Pope and the media. What are we up to, about a 1000 posts with this thread? Today’s media are experts at this. They pick and choose certain quotes, then combine them all together to form what they want to convey…***their agenda! *** And I’ll tell you something…they’re damn good at it! Just look at the damage on this thread alone! Half are starting to question their Catholic faith, while the other half are seeing the green light for homosexual activity. Others seem to think abortion is over-rated! Yep. They are doing a bang-up job causing dissension and confusion!..Somehow, I picture the father of lies nodding his approval at all that they’ve achieved. For he’s the king at causing dissension and confusion!

Peace, Mark
 
Btw…can anyone show where Pope Francis said we should change our political emphasis on ending abortion, gay “marriage,” euthanasia, etc.?
 
Mark121359 said:
It has become crystal clear to me that this media knows exactly what it’s doing! Just have a look at this thread and all the other threads involving this Pope and the media. What are we up to, about a 1000 posts with this thread? Today’s media are experts at this. They pick and choose certain quotes, then combine them all together to form what they want to convey…***their agenda! *** And I’ll tell you something…they’re damn good at it! Just look at the damage on this thread alone! Half are starting to question their Catholic faith, while the other half are seeing the green light for homosexual activity. Others seem to think abortion is over-rated! Yep. They are doing a bang-up job causing dissension and confusion!..Somehow, I picture the father of lies nodding his approval at all that they’ve achieved. For he’s the king at causing dissension and confusion!

Peace, Mark
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Haven’t questioned my faith before…and I don’t now. I am neither dissenting or confused, nor do I have any sexual attraction towards women. I am prolife. And lastly I never give evil any credit, credence or press.
 
agnes_therese said:
He speaks very clearly, no need to someone to “interpret.”
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He may speak very clearly, but why do others scramble his words, why do forum members Catholic and non-catholic & secular media not understand these clear words ? again, where is there to be found an official bona fide statement & not some corrupted deciphered secular media trash ?
 
anthonymarie said:
I think he could have found a more appropriate way to articulate what you are saying than by saying the church is obsessed with abortion if he doesn’t believe it is.

To say that the church IS obsessed with abortion is to say just that. In what sense is the church obsessed with it? An obsession is not something that can be predicated of an image. An obsession is something a person, or a group of people, exhibit. Which people? And what did they do that they are percieved by the Holy Father, not just the secular world, as obsessed?
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Read the interview. He never said the Church was obsessed with abortion!
 
bekalc said:
Jesus saved the woman first… He saved her as well without pre conditions. And after that he asked that her response to the free gift of her life, was “sin no more.”

I think abortion is important. And I am a daughter of the Church. But I think the sins are a symptom of a society that is turning away from God.

And if people don’t know God-or love God; how can we expect them to care what God thinks?

We need to introduce people to Christ, and a relationship with him. And then when they know and fall in love with Christ-they will want to please him.
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Yes true, but Jesus never sanctioned her sin !
 
stewstew03 said:
Notice he does NOT condone abortion, LGBT marriage, etc. Rather, he is trying to strike a balance, and I welcome his approach. The world knows where the Church stands on those hot-button issues, but the world also needs to hear the Gospel…

We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
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In general I agree but there may well be Catholics out there who are not even aware of our own teachings on this subject…
 
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