It is a telling indication of the transformative powers of Pope Francis that a stunning array of people from around the world, including many Protestants, are deeply impressed by this pope….

Reform-minded Catholics who welcome Francis’s various initiatives to improve the governance structures of the church and key steps on the social front, including toward women, are understandably nervous.

They realize that, in that titanic — and, behind the scenes, often relentless — struggle, the Pope’s fragile health is not an asset.  With the benefit of hindsight, they wonder whether it would have been much better for the Catholic Church if Francis had taken over the papacy back in 2005….

(AP)

The clear and present danger is that when a successor for Francis will have to be found, the forces opposing him inside the church now will try hard to row back.

If and when that happens, the Church will lose a great deal of the rare commodity it now has – global appeal.

President Barack Obama stands with Pope Francis (L) as the pontiff is welcomed to the White House during a ceremony in Washington on Sept 23, 2015. (Reuters)

Angry conservatives insist Pope Francis is a fake Christian

David Horsey – Los Angeles Times

To them, his teachings on climate change, indulgent consumerism, excessive wealth and capitalist exploitation of the poor are nothing short of socialism. Add to that his open embrace of the refugees from Syria who are flooding into Europe, and quite a few folks on the right are convinced that, far from being a good Christian, Francis is a dangerous charlatan.

In recent days, I’ve heard from a couple of these people. They disagreed with a column in which I said Francis sets a better example of Christianity than does Kim Davis, the devout county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples….

What conservative critics of Francis ignore is that Catholic social teaching has been consistent for more than a century, stretching back to the age of sweatshops, child labor and the robber barons. When Ronald Reagan’s partner in Cold War diplomacy, Pope John Paul II, came to the U.S., he too preached against the abuses of the capitalist system, though his fans on the right conveniently closed their ears to what he had to say. The concern Francis has for the environment grows out of that tradition.

Pope Francis gives a thumbs up to the crowd as he rides down Constitution Avenue in his Popemobile in Washington on day two of his first visit to the United States in Washington on Sept. 23, 2015. (Reuters)

 

Pope Francis Isn’t as Progressive on LGBTQ Issues as You Think

German Lopez – VOX.com

Fueled by some of the pope’s comments on gay people (“Who am I to judge?”), some Democrats have praised Francis for his liberal views — with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, for example, stating that Francis has led him to rethink his views on the Catholic Church….

He still opposes same-sex marriage, and he still repudiates modern views on gender identity that allow trans people — who identify with a gender different than the one assigned to them at birth — to live their lives more freely….

But the pope later clarified these comments in a very important way: “When God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person.”

As William Saletan pointed out at Slate, this isn’t a radical departure from what’s been the typical line of conservative Catholics for some time now: “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” Francis was saying that he won’t “reject and condemn this person,” but that still leaves room for condemning the sin of homosexuality itself.