This is what I have been saying. Maybe the Pope’s approach is good, but many people outside of the Church like him for all the wrong reasons because they have been confused by his language. Who can blame them?
I would say this is kind of diminishing the issue… what people are concerned about is that his language is such that it could be and is very easily misinterpreted to the point of condoning and/or advocating a sinful lifestyle. It all has to do with the way we use the word “judge.” For a Catholic, to accept someone for who they are but not necessarily condone the lifestyle they lead is not judging. For the rest of the world, to not wholeheartedly accept their lifestyle is being judgmental of that person. So the secular media and culture cannot be blamed for interpreting Pope Francis’ words “who am I to judge gay people” to “it’s ok for men to have sex with men.” Sure, perhaps he can’t be expected to plan every speech in advance, but when he uses these words in that context, and then does not follow up afterwards, can we even blame people for being confused?
It’s similar to the “I love Jesus and hate religion” movement among evangelicals. They don’t really hate religion, but the word “religion” in their circles has a different meaning, and they use this line as an attempt to reach out to the world, only to cause confusion, as well-intentioned as they may be.
True, some people will twist his words no matter what he says, because they hate the Church or religion in general. There’s not much we can do about that.
He said what he meant. If you watch the video, he was not struggling for words or speaking flippantly or carelessly. He is a religious, so his training and way of life affects the way he thinks and speaks.
It seems many faithful Catholics misunderstand his words and are having difficulty with them. I participate in an interfaith bible study once a week and one of the liberal protestants loves him. But- he fully understands that the Pope is not compromising Church teaching. He would like the Church to change it’s teaching but at the same time he is listening to the Pope, because he loves the Pope’s way of pastoring and speaking. “He exudes kindness”. This is how people are converted.
There is a lot of focus on the word “judge” in Pope Francis" statement. But notice what is not talked about, and this gets into a deeper reflection than the superficial use of the word “judge”.
The Pope says “
Who am I…to judge?” Who am I. He does NOT say “I cannot make judgements”, does not say “the Church does not judge”, or " I am not going to speak the truth". He says “Who am I to judge”. This “who am I” is an elemental question for everyone. It can only be answered by looking at ourselves as God sees us, and in relation to other people. Who are we in this context? Sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. We have something in common with gay people, with all people, even though we don’t commit the exact same sins. Francis asks us to have compassion (meaning “to suffer with”, not the common notion of sympathy or sentiment). He asks us to look at one another and ask “who are we”?
Francis’ humility shines through in this statement. I think he is clear as a bell with his statement, he is just speaking in a way that is challenging us as faithful Catholics. Let the word twisters and enemies of the Church twist away, they will always be there and he cannot tailor his statements to avoid that fallout.
