Owensboro Catholics like pope's challenge to church

Source: Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.儲存Sept. 21--On Friday, a number of Owensboro-area Catholics agreed with Pope Francis' message for the church to focus more on being merciful and welcoming and to preach less on divisive, hot-button issues as abortion, gay marriage and contraception."I think he's spot-on," said Rev. Larry Hostetter, Brescia University's president. "He doesn't reject the teachings. What we believe is much broader than the three hot-button issues."Hostetter said he also has no doubt that the pope is attempting to take the church in a different direction -- but not move away from its teachings."As pope, he has a certain leeway in what he chooses to emphasize," Hostetter said. "He is choosing to focus on the beautiful social justice tradition we have. When we talk about caring for the dignity of human beings, we're talking about all human beings, especially the poor and marginalized."Francis' comments in an interview published Thursday in Civilta Catholica sent shockwaves through the Catholic church. In that interview, he is quoted as blasting the church's obsession with "small-minded rules" that are driving the faithful away.Francis' comments contained no change in church teaching, but they represented a radical shift in tone and stood in stark contrast to the priorities of his two immediate predecessors.Greg Burke, the Vatican's senior communications adviser, insisted Friday that Francis was by no means calling into question the papacies and priorities of his predecessors."The pope is not condemning his predecessors," Burke told The Associated Press. "What he is saying is 'We've spent a lot of time talking about the boundaries. We've spent a lot of time talking about what is sin and what's not. Now let's move on. Let's talk about mercy. Let's talk about love.'""Some of what he said goes back to Pope John Paul II and the 'preferential option for the poor,' " Hostetter said. "That emerged from the church's social teachings. It's used as an analytical device for making decisions. How will this affect the poor?"The pope cares deeply for people, especially the poor and marginalized, and that shows through, Hostetter said. "A number of people have fallen away from the church. Maybe this will cause them to re-think that. To be relevant in the 21st century, you have to be willing to speak the language. Personally, I think it's a breath of fresh air."Nettie Noel of Owensboro, who had just attended noon mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral, said she loves Pope Francis and loved the message he sent in the publication."What he's saying is that whoever we are, God loves us," she said. "And we should love everybody. We have to realize that and put our arms around everyone. He's telling us that we have turned our backs, and that's not what Jesus would do."Noel said she has heard Rev. Jerry Riney and other priests say that "we should look at people as Jesus would and not through our own eyes."Pope Francis got it right and is "telling us what we need to hear," she said.Todd Brock, who is a vice president at Brescia and a self-professed liberal Catholic with five kids, said he is always cautious when there is a change in church leadership and wants to develop an educated opinion."The pope's latest statements were very encouraging to me迷你倉" Brock said. "He's paying more attention to -- and asking the church to focus more on the larger issues. He's still paying attention to church dogma, but he's a good 'people's pope' -- showing by example and bringing people together."Carla Crespo, a senior at Brescia and the student government president, agreed that the pope was telling the church to shift its focus."I think he was saying the church should not just focus on abortion and that it needs to be more inclusive and to expand the roles of women," she said.Hostetter said a lot of people are relating to the way the pope interacts. On a June trip to Rome, Hostetter and a group of students attended one of the Wednesday audiences. "It was packed. They're always well-attended, but we couldn't move it was so crowded. I said, what's different? And it's not so much what he's saying as how he's saying it."Suneesh Mathew, an associate pastor at St. Stephen Cathedral, said the pope is setting an example for the church."He is coming down to the level of the people and paying more attention to the needs of the people," Mathew said. "He is saying to follow the rules, but to address the needs of the people. It is the great work of the Holy Spirit to select him right now. His teachings are touching the people."Rev. Mike Clark, pastor at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Brown's Valley, said he wanted to read the whole interview before expressing an opinion."But I am excited that the pope has challenged us to embrace the poorest of the poor," Clark said. "I see him articulating that there are many kinds of poverty -- physical poverty, a societal poverty and spiritual poverty -- and we should be addressing all of them."For Clark, the pope is challenging the church to help people who have basic needs -- food, shelter and clothing, but he also wants the church to help those who may feel isolated or unwanted as well as those who have an unwillingness to acknowledge God's presence or are not open to God working in their lives.On Friday, the pope likely appealed to the doctrine-minded when he issued a strong anti-abortion message and cited Vatican teaching on the need to defend the unborn during an audience with Catholic gynecologists.He urged the gynecologists to abide by their consciences and help bring lives into the world. "Things have a price and can be for sale, but people have a dignity that is priceless and worth far more than things," he said."Every pope has a different strategy," U.S. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told "CBS This Morning." ''What I think he's saying is, 'Those are important issues and the church has got to keep talking about them, but we need to talk about them in a fresh new way. If we keep kind of a negative finger-wagging tone, it's counterproductive. "He said that while Francis had sent shockwaves throughout the church, clearly it was necessary."Every day I think, 'Thank God he was elected.' ... Every day I say, 'This man is batting a thousand.' "Joy Campbell, 691-7299, jcampbell@messenger-inquirer.comThe Associated Press contributed to this story.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at .messenger-inquirer.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage