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"A few passages from Pope Francis’ famous interview published in America
have unsettled some people for many reasons....I have long thought that helping people understand why
abortion, contraception, and homosexual acts are not in accord with
God’s plans for human happiness is a very effective way of drawing
people closer to the Lord and to the Church....
"Undoubtedly some pro-lifers and some opponents of contraception and some who crusade against the widespread acceptance of homosexuality are angry people ready to condemn others as unredeemable sinners, but I suspect they are few and far between in the US at least....
"I think most people think they are not sinners and not in need of redemption. They do not think having abortions, using contraception, using pornography, fornicating, masturbating, or engaging in homosexual acts are immoral actions. They think what they are doing is fine and they are fine just as they are....
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"Pope Francis finds the homily a proper place to teach moral truths
but thinks priests have gotten the order wrong. Where is he hearing
these homilies that hammer on moral truths at the expense of preaching
the gospel? For some time now I have been trying to help seminarians and
priests preach on the difficult moral truths. One reason it is we
struggle is that virtually none of us have heard it done! We have heard
homilies on abortion—perhaps at most once a year—while homilies on
contraception and homosexual acts are so rare as to cause astonishment
and generally earn the pastor an influx of hate mail....
"As Dave Sloan—a friend who is one of the best workers in the vineyard—stated in a post on Facebook: 'People do not need to be convinced that they are lost, and they do not need to be convinced that they are wounded. All that is needed is for them to believe that they are known at a deep level and they are loved at a deep level. When they are convinced of these things they are ready enough to reveal their wounds and their sense of being lost. This is messy, and painfully difficult, and it is no surprise that those in the church who have grown comfortable hiding behind a didactic wall are howling that Pope Francis is tearing down that wall.' While I have my quibbles with what the Holy Father said, I think Dave captures the most important element of what he said. Those of us who love didactic certainty need to examine ourselves to strive constantly to ensure that our actions are motivated by love."
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