Pope Francis

I pray he will apologize the the coverup of child abuse by church leaders.
It is ironic that clergy who have consentual sex with adults are punnished whild child abuse is covered up.

I wish Pope Francis well. And a long life.
The first non European Pope is a good idea.

Echoing the need for acknowledgemnt of the abuse and making sure these men do not have contact with those who are potential victims. It seems that a non-European Pope may be able to give a freshness that Benedict could not. Prayers for healing of the Catholic Church as this chapter unfolds.

ex-Catholic here, sounds like a good guy from what I've read, but...very Catholic (translation = not much change as far as views on homosexuality, women clergy).

yep, he is definitely against gay marriage and gay adoption.

Pope Francis Against Gay Marriage, Gay Adoption

in spite of his views, i am relieved that acceptance of gay marriage has been making great strides, and pray it continues to do so.

leslie

I believe that gay marriage may never be accepted in religious communities as a whole, but hopefully they will be better accepted in civil society and communities.

We are fortunate in the US that we do not live under Christian law (or any other religious law) and therefore our personal choices are not required to meet a faith based litmus test.

Nor should religious communities be forced to accept practices that run counter to their belief systems.

That said.......civil society can, and should accept (and even encourage!) gay marriage. Stable, committed couples form the backbone of civilization......I fail to see how "Adam and Steve's" union threatens my own, let alone that of the institution of marriage. As far as I'm concerned, that argument is balderdash and I reject it outright, even though I am a practicing Catholic and support the overwhelming majority of my church's teachings. Not that anyone asked me, of course.....

I believe if the Catholic Church continues it's conservative stance on birth control, being gay, and gay marriage they will continue to lose young parishioners in the US.

Many of the gay people I know have walked away from Christianity because Christianity pushed them away. I have walked away from some organized religious situations because I figure if my DS is not welcome, I am not welcome either. She is one who was pushed away. All she wants is the freedom to love who she does. The Catholic Church may thrive in other parts of the world, I heard 40% of Catholics are Hispanic. I think the US base is shrinking quickly. Perhaps the same rate as many other Christian churches, I don't know. However many it is it is sad.

i agree aky, that it is sad.
it must be tough to be conservative in a progressive, evolving society.
however, i was most impressed by pope francis's wooden cross...
and his views on healthcare.
the man is well liked, esp by the poor.

leslie

Leslie, I agree. He cannot be judged by one stance. I appreciate that he is not dressed in gold when so many of his flock are in great distress.