"He Was Engaging the Disengaged, Inviting Those Who Feel Disinvited—and, Almost Overnight, He Has Changed the Public Perception of the Institutional Church."

I had a brief conversation today with my priest.  I had called him seeking some guidance on a particular touchy issue and was a little concerned about what he might have to say.  He surprised me instead with the kind of compassion I so needed to hear.

Deacon Greg has a piece up today about Pope Francis who is also surprising people with the same kind of compassion:

In his interview, he said “This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people. We must not reduce the bosom of the universal church to a nest protecting our mediocrity.”

Francis envisions not a chapel, but a cathedral.

His remarks speak to those he wants to be a part of it.  Knock down the walls.  Raise the roof.  Make room for more.

Here comes everyone.

The pope’s interview was targeting the indifferent Catholic who attends Mass sporadically and feels disenfranchised or shunned.

He was speaking to the couples who have been refused a wedding because they are living together.

He was speaking to the parents who were denied an infant’s baptism because they were unmarried.

He was speaking to gays whose behavior has been called “intrinsically disordered” and who feel, as a result, defective and unwelcome.

He was speaking to Catholics like one family member I know, who has stopped going to Mass because he and his wife conceived a child through IVF.

Pope Francis was speaking to those living with the heartbreak of abortion and the alienation of divorce.

He was speaking to those who have been away from the confessional, and the communion rail, and the grace of the sacramental life of the Church, because of a harsh word muttered through the grail.  He was addressing those who feel guilty or ashamed or afraid of what the priest might say.   “The confessional is not a torture chamber,” the pope explained.

He was also speaking to atheists and skeptics and non-believers who again and again in the last few weeks have launched a conversation in social media with the surprising words, “I really like this pope.”

He was engaging the disengaged, inviting those who feel disinvited—and, almost overnight, he has changed the public perception of the institutional Church.

Do read the whole thing.

We, you and me, are a people so in need.  This Pope is doing what he can to show the world that the Church has what is needed.

I pray we, you and me, will listen.

Thanks Deacon Greg for an excellent piece.