1) http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/local-catholic-leaders-pope-calling-for-pastoral-a/nZ3JP/?ecmp=statesman_online_audience_day-pass_invitiation-box
2) Category of Problem/Issue: Religious/Social
3) Level of Issue: World
4) Problem/Issue that Individuals/Families face: Issue of how The Catholic church will change under Pope Frances, and how the Catholic people, as well as non-Catholics will react to the changes.
5) Why this is important to individuals/families OR How does this affect individuals/families:
Considering there are an estimated 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, not including people who have strayed from the Church, any changes done in the church will affect a large group of people, and since the church has been so publicized and criticized for so many years, the new view of the Church proposed my Pope Francis will hopefully change the views non-Catholics have had for years.
6) What are your views on the issue/policy?
The article is based on Pope Francis's recent statements on his hopes to change the focus of the church from focusing on a vision of a more welcoming pastoral church, one not so quick to judge or condemn. The Pontiff’s warning was that the church is focused too much on issues such as abortion, contraception and gay marriage saying that "too many times there have been those in the church who jump to the point of morality without having first understood the person."
I consider myself to be a devout Catholic and could not agree more with Pope Francis. In my opinion, it is about time that the Church has an earthly leader who is rooted in God's love and mercy toward EVERYONE, rather than pointing fingers and condemning, which for years has been the view on the Church. I believe that he is truly the people's Pope, saying that “thinking with the church” doesn’t mean “only thinking with the hierarchy of the church.” Pope Francis was brought into the papacy in a time where my generation of Catholics, and non-Catholics alike, are fighting for equality and the good of man, and he is willing to fight along side of us. Although, this may be great news for me, there is a large amount of people who disagree with his was of teaching in the church and his call for other leaders in the church to do the same.
Many of these people are obviously a lot older and in my opinion are stuck in their ways, but I strongly believe that Pope Francis's vision for the future of the Church and the need for acceptance of ALL people will influence those who are close minded and seem to have misconstrued the Bible and Jesus's teaching to love all people and not condemn, to truly understand where people are coming from, whether we agree with them or not.With many of our political influences obviously being swayed by moral and religious beliefs, I think it will be beneficial to have a Pope who is so concerned about the well being of others opening more conservative people's eyes to the effects decisions have on not just Catholics, but every walk life.
I agree that this will be a challenge among many Catholics but I do think it will end up being a good thing that's happening. I hope that all traditional churches will see past the typical traditions and judgments and present a more welcoming church. This isn't an issue with just Catholic churches, even though they're the ones that are scrutinized the most for it. I'm from a traditional southern Baptist church and I see the same things going on there. It is mostly with the older generation because the word "tolerance" makes them cringe. Pope Francis knows what he's doing and he's extremely brave for trying to change that aspect. I hope this won't cause any divisions.
ReplyDelete