Some folks adore/idolize Pope Francis.
Some folks think he's too non-traditional, relaxed, "easy going", "modern".
Some folks think he (and/or the Catholic Church and/or "organized religion") is a joke.
Whichever camp you fall into, take a deep/thoughtful look into the words that were released as part of his Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love") document today:
Pope Francis on "LIFE" and ABORTION:
"I feel it urgent to state that, if the family is the sanctuary of life, the place where life is conceived and cared for, it is a horrendous contradiction when it becomes a place where life is rejected and destroyed. So great is the value of a human life, and so inalienable the right to life of an innocent child growing in the mother's womb, that no alleged right to one's own body can justify a decision to terminate that life, which is an end in itself and which can never be considered the 'property' of another human being."
Pope Francis on MARRIAGE and RELIGIOUS LIBERTY:
"In discussing the dignity and mission of the family, the Synod Fathers observed that '. . . there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family.' It is unacceptable 'that local Churches should be subjected to pressure in this matter and that international bodies should make financial aid to poor countries dependent on the introduction of laws to establish 'marriage' between persons of the same sex."
Pope Francis on GENDER IDENTITY:
"Yet another challenge is posed by the various forms of an ideology of gender that denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family. . . It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life, and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality."
I find it very disturbing that the same folks who basically named Pope Francis a "sage of the ages" for his views about global warming are now utterly fuming about these words.
Can't have it both ways, folks.
The guy IS thoughtful.
The guy IS loving.
The guy IS wise.
Out for now........
Matt