Quote of the Day

. . . Francis locked the deadbolt on John Paul II's closed door to women, and he reaffirmed the church's woefully inadequate teaching on gays and lesbians as well as its ban on marriage equality. Yet we still hear that many progressive Catholics "cannot get enough" of the new pope.

I have even heard Catholic women who have been fierce fighters for the full inclusion of women in the church claim that they still feel hope and are excited about this pope and his proposed deeper theology of women.

Yes, Pope Francis is a warm pope of the people with a deep passion for many marginalized communities. But he is still advocating some very unjust, harmful doctrinal positions. So why do Catholics, especially many progressive Catholics, continue to give him a pass?

Francis is changing the tone in the hope that the church will be perceived in a better light, but there is little evidence to suggest he will or wants to make doctrinal changes on women's equality, same-sex relationships or contraception, and his response to the issue of clergy sex abuse has been underwhelming at best.

Have we gotten to the point where our desire to realize the church of our dreams and our insistence that Francis will be the man to make our dreams come true is clouding our perception of what Francis is really saying?

– Jamie Manson
"When Does Our Hope for Francis Become Denial?"
National Catholic Reporter
July 31, 2013

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Quote of the Day – July 30, 2013
Why I Take Hope in Pope Francis' Statement on Gay Priests

Related Off-site Link:
Pope Francis's Gay Remarks as Something New Under Papal Sun: Commentators Who Say Nay – William D. Lindsey (Bilgrimage, August 1, 2013).
Reformist Priest Helmut Schüller Praises Pope's New Tone But Wants More – Mary Wisniewski (Reuters, August 1, 2013).
Pope Franics is Not All That Evolved on Issues of Sex and Gender – Colleen Kochivar-Baker (Enlightened Catholicism, August 1, 2013).