An interview with the Holy Father: The Real Story.

You may have heard or read in the news today that an interview with Pope Francis has been published today in several Jesuit publications including "America Magazine".  You may also have heard or read that Pope Francis talked how the Church shouldn't talk so much about homosexuality and sex and abortion, and that he is continuing to make "ground-breaking" teachings on these subjects.  While it is true that the Holy Father stated that we need emphasize the mercy of God over talking about a few issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, etc., as usual the media has fallen short of talking about the interview as a whole.

A couple of points: First, the Holy Father talks about a lot more than just that topic.  He talks about his discernment of joining the Jesuits, the influence of culture in his life, his experience in the governance in the Church, the importance of prayer, among other things.  We really get a wonderful insight into the life of this Pontiff.  But you don't see that in the news.

Second, as I mentioned already, even the section that the news is trying focus on is being shown slightly out of context.  True, we might not always hear about the mercy of God as much as we should, but this message from Pope Francis that we must focus more about mercy is hardly a new thing.  The Holy Father is not trying to stop people from talking about these hot topic issues.  Rather, he is trying encourage us all to focus on the love and mercy and forgiveness of God and to invite others closer to God.  Once we help them to feel welcomed in the Church and know of God's love for them, then we can help them to figure out how to grow in holiness.  This might be a lesson in prayer or a lesson in morality or a lesson in Social Teaching or a lesson in Sacred Scripture or other aspects of the faith.  If all we do is beat people over the head with moral teachings, we may scare them away before they come to know Jesus.  Why not talk about that in the news?

Thank you for reading my simple thoughts on this topic.  I invite you read the interview for yourself.  See it for yourself.  Here is the link: http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview.  Enjoy.