The other day in class Risa mentioned Pope Francis, who was sworn in just recently. I have been following some of the recent news about the new Pope's revolutionary views on homosexuals and women in the church. I personally think Pope Francis could not have come at a better time. The Catholic church has been under some really tough criticism recently, and in need of some serious change. Attached is an article I found discussing the recent interviews with the Pope that have been getting a lot of attention from Christians and non-Christians alike.
http://southfloridagaynews.com/articles/pope-francis-unveils-a-new-fragrance-for-gay-catholics-and-women/131368
Admitting to the public that the church needs to reform its way of operating has caused some serious controversy (and excitement). When approached with questions regarding homosexuals in the church Pope Francis has shown a refreshing amount of tolerance and even acceptance that has never really been displayed by any other authority figure in the church, and definitely not be his predecessor Pope Benedict. He has also said that he is going to try to create a more woman friendly church, with leadership roles to help utilize "the feminine genius...wherever we make important decisions". While he hasn't actually outlined any specific reforms I think warming the church and its leaders up to the idea of change is a great step forward.
This is very relevant to what we've been talking about in class the last week. Obviously equality for women in any area, including the church, has been a big focus of this class. The understanding and recognition of sexualities other than heterosexual is something else we've been discussing in the last few days. The statements the Pope has been making about making room for women and gays in the church is especially huge (at least in my opinion) because the church is such a powerful institution in our society. Many of the social structures that our society run on stem from these religious institutions in some way, shape or form. It is also has a reputation as one of the most inflexible institutions up to this point, and it's reasonable to say these two topics strike a very sensitive nerve in most Christians (as well as many other people our society). Personally, I think if this Pope can get the ball rolling for these reforms in the church, it could be like a domino affect on the rest of society. If women are accepted as leaders in the church, one of the oldest male dominant institutions in our society, what's keeping us from breaking through the glass ceiling? If homosexuals are embraced as spiritually valuable by the church, which is the source of most people's reservations about homosexuality, why couldn't the rest of society embrace them as civically valuable?
I couldn’t agree more with everything that you said! Although Pope Francis and Pope Benedict have extremely different views, I believe it is the step in the right direction! I appreciate his warm views on accepting everyone for who they are. It brings back the warmth in being a Christian of knowing God loves and accepts everyone as compared to judging people on if they should go to Hell for their decisions or beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Pope Francis’ views help to change people’s views of a lot of things. Our society is very driven by religion and homosexuality is a controversial topic. I have always had a difficult time understanding why many Christians take some topics so literally while other topics aren’t. Despite Pope Benedict’s belief, western society’s overall outlook of women is that they have the right to be independent and hold down their own careers while it is mentioned multiple times in the Bible that men hold all control and women are supposed to serve their husbands. Another example is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, gluttony, the over-indulgence of food and drink. The U.S. is known for an epidemic of obesity yet that is overlooked in our society.
Pope Francis is exactly what our society needs to change how we look at others and I hope that his views spread and are passed on to future religious leaders from here on out.