Pope: Church shouldn’t be obsessed with abortion and gay marriage

Pope Francis says the Catholic Church should not allow its bans on gay marriage, abortion, and contraception to dominate its teachings, but must be a more welcoming Church where priests are understanding pastors, not cold, dogmatic bureaucrats.

In a blunt interview with Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit monthly, Francis did not hold out the prospect of changes to such moral teachings coming soon but tried to shift the Church’s tone from condemnation to mercy.

In the 12,000-word article, Francis said the Church had “locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules”.

The Church, he said, should see itself as “a field hospital after a battle” and try to heal the larger wounds of society, not be “obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently”.

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage, and the use of contraceptive methods,” he said. “This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that.

“But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

Speaking specifically of homosexuality, he said: “In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy.”

The Pope also spoke about the role of women in the Church, saying their “deep questions must be addressed”.

“We must therefore investigate further the role of women in the Church,” he said. “We have to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman. Only by making this step will it be possible to better reflect on their function within the Church.”

In a startling admission, he declared himself a sinner. “This is the most accurate definition,” he said, when asked what sort of a man he was. “It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”