'No one can be condemned forever': Pope Francis just signaled a big shift in Catholic thought

[rug]

Philip Pullella, Reuters
1hour ago

VATICAN*/ CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday called for a Church that was less strict and more compassionate towards "imperfect" Catholics, such as those who divorced and remarried, saying "no one can be condemned forever".

Francis said gays should be respected but firmly re-stated the Church's position that there are "absolutely no grounds" to equate gay unions to heterosexual marriage.

In a 260-page treatise called "Amoris Laetitia," (The Joy of Love), one of the most eagerly awaited pronouncements of his pontificate, Francis quoted Martin Luther King, Argentine Poet Jorge Luis Borges and even the 1987 Danish cult film Babette's Feast, to make his case for a more merciful and loving Church.

The keenest anticipation centered on what he would say about the full re-integration into the Church of Catholics who divorce and remarry in civil ceremonies.

http://www.businessinsider.com/pope-francis-signals-shift-in-catholic-thought-on-family-sex-2016-4

[zalinda]

1. He's very slowly bringing the Catholic ship around

It takes time to move such a massive amount of people toward the 21st century. He has done more moving in the last few years than the church has done in the last 100 years.

Z