Pope Francis

So being the resident Catholic guy a number of people at work have asked me about Pope Francis and his reported 'unorthodox' comments over the last few months, including saying "Who Am I to Judge?" regarding homosexuals and saying the Church should back off the pro-life and traditional marriage activism.  The Washington Post and New York Times have recently published articles on the travails of 'conservative' Catholics under a Pope whose style has been unlike JPII's and B16's and who certainly has given pause to many.  A number of folks among my friends and family are certainly bothered, bewildered, even bewitched by some of the things the Pope has said.

For my own part, I haven't been thrilled, but I understand where the Holy Father is coming from and can applaud the effort.  We must reach out to people where they're at, not shout out them from an ivory tower.  The Pope isn't changing doctrine, just emphasis and style.  And it's working.  Many who have long seen the Church as a bunch of fuddy-duddies who hate gays & fun and cling to old myths while occasionally doing some good are now seeing someone, perhaps, a little different.  We should want that.  I can see Jesus himself doing something similar.  He conversed and found favor with prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, and others in the face of opposition, even from his own followers.

So I look with hope.  That doesn't mean there isn't a tinge of fear in the background -- people love to hear that they can do whatever they want without repercussion, and that's the interpretation that some are taking from the Holy Father's words.  But I think it's starting a dialogue that might not have been there before, and if that brings sinners (which we ALL are) closer to Jesus, then all the better.