Little Known Pope Francis Quotes

[Denise]

Little Known Pope Francis Quotes

September 14, 2015
Bill Donohue comments on the Pope Francis that the media don't want the public to know:

It's great that the media have finally found a pope that they like, but if they were sincere they would report on statements made by Pope Francis that don't quite fit the narrative they have spun about him.

The teachings of the Church generally lean toward the liberal side on social and economic matters, and generally lean conservative on cultural and moral issues. In this regard, Pope Francis is no different from his predecessors. But one would never know this by reading mainstream media accounts of him.

Pope Francis has made many comments on issues the media have either ignored or underreported.

POPE FRANCIS ON KEY ISSUES

Abortion
 "It is God who gives life. Let us respect and love human life,
especially vulnerable life in a mother's womb."
 "A pregnant woman isn't carrying a toothbrush in her belly, or a
tumor…We are in the presence of a human being."
 "The right to life is the first human right. Abortion is killing someone
that cannot defend him or herself."

Anti-Catholicism
 "The world does not tolerate the divinity of Christ. It doesn't tolerate
the announcement of the Gospel. It does not tolerate the Beatitudes.
And we have persecutions: with words, with insults, the things that
they said about Christians in the early centuries, the condemnations,
imprisonment...But we easily forget. We think of the many Christians,
60 years ago, in the labor camps, in the camps of the Nazis, of the
communists: So many of them! For being Christians! And even
today...But [people say] 'today we are better educated and these things
no longer exist.' Yes they do!...They are condemned for having a
Bible. They can't wear a crucifix."

Catholic Colleges
 "Essential in this regard is the uncompromising witness of Catholic
universities to the church's moral teaching, and the defense of her
freedom, precisely in and through her institutions, to uphold that
teaching as authoritatively proclaimed by the magisterium of her
pastors....Your own identity—as it was intended from the beginning—
to defend it, preserve it, carry it forward."

Catholic Dissidents
 "Those with alternative teachings and doctrines [have] a partial
belonging to the church. [They] have one foot outside the church.
They rent the church."
 In 2014, the Tablet (U.K.) reported that "The head of pro-reform
movement We Are Church in Austria has been excommunicated by
Pope Francis for 'celebrating' Mass, the Austrian press has reported."
Catholics and Politics
 "A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so
that those who govern can govern."

Euthanasia
 "A civilization whose technological advancements do not seek to
protect the most vulnerable, from conception until natural death, fails
to live up to its responsibility."
 "A just society recognizes the right to life from conception to natural
death as paramount."

False Compassion
 "The dominant thinking sometimes suggests a 'false compassion,' that
which believes that it is: helpful to women to promote abortion; an act
of dignity to obtain euthanasia; a scientific breakthrough to 'produce' a
child and to consider it to be a right rather than a gift to welcome; or
to use human lives as guinea pigs presumably to save others. Instead,
the compassion of the Gospel is that which accompanies in times of
need, that is, the compassion of the Good Samaritan, who 'sees,' 'has
compassion,' approaches and provides concrete help."

Freedom of Expression (Charlie Hebdo)
 "In theory, it may be said that the Gospel says we must turn the other
cheek. In theory, we can say that we have the freedom to express
ourselves, and this is important. In theory we are all in agreement, but
we are human, and so there is prudence, which is a virtue in human
coexistence. I cannot continually provoke or insult someone, because
I would risk angering them, I risk receiving a reaction that is not
right, not right. But it is human. Therefore, I say that the freedom of
expression must take into consideration the reality of humanity, and
for this reason I say that we must be prudent. This means we must be
polite and prudent, as prudence is the virtue that regulates human
relations."
 "If someone says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a
punch. It's normal. It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot
insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."

Gay Marriage
 "Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an
attempt to destroy God's plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument)
but a 'move' of the Father of Lies [the Devil] who seeks to confuse
and deceive the children of God."
 "At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother, and
children."
 "At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated
against in advance, and deprived of their human development given
by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total
rejection of God's law engraved in our hearts."

Gays
 "If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will,
then who am I to judge him?"
 "You have to distinguish between the fact of a person being gay, and
the fact of a lobby. The problem isn't the orientation. The problem is
making a lobby."

Gender Ideology
 "I ask myself, if the so-called gender theory is not, at the same time,
an expression of frustration and resignation, which seeks to cancel out
sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it. Yes,
we risk taking a step backwards."
 "The crisis of the family is a social reality. Then there are ideological
colonizations of the family, modes and proposals from Europe and
also from overseas. The error of the human mind that is gender theory
creates a lot of confusion."
 "Gender ideology is demonic!"

Immigration
 "Migrants from Central America and Mexico...who cross the border
with the United States under extreme conditions and in pursuit of a
hope that in most cases turns out to be vain. They are increasing day
by day. This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent
measure, these children be welcomed and protected. These measures,
however, will not be sufficient, unless they are accompanied by
policies that inform people about the dangers of such a journey, and
above all, that promote development in their countries of origin."
Marriage and the Family
 "Complementarity will take many forms as each man and woman
brings his or her distinctive contributions to their marriage and to the
formation of their children—his or her personal richness, personal
charisma."
 "Children have a right to grow up in a family with a father and a
mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child's
development and emotional maturity."

Marxism
 "The Marxist ideology is wrong."
Moral Destitution
 "Moral destitution...consists in slavery to vice and sin. How much
pain is caused in families because one of their members—often a
young person—is in thrall to alcohol, drugs, gambling or
pornography!...In such cases moral destitution can be considered
impending suicide."

Pope Francis' Positions on Sexual Issues
 "The position of the Church. I am a son of the Church."
Pope Pius XII
 "What worries me regarding this subject is the figure of Pius XII, the
Pope that led the Church during World War II. They have said all
sorts of things about poor Pius XII. But we need to remember that
before he was seen as the great defender of the Jews. He hid many in
convents in Rome and in other Italian cities, and also in the residence
of Castel Gandolfo. Forty-two babies, children of Jews and other
persecuted who sought refuge there were born there, in the Pope's
room, in his own bed. I don't want to say that Pius XII did not make
any mistakes—I myself make many—but one needs to see his role in
the context of the time. For example, was it better for him not to speak
so that more Jews would not be killed or for him to speak?"

Priestly Sexual Abuse
 "On this path, the Church has done much, perhaps more than all
others. The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution that
has moved with transparency and responsibility. No one has done
more, and yet the Church is the only one that is being attacked."

Sin
 "The loose minister washed his hands by simply saying, 'This is not a
sin,' or something like that."

Spanking
 "One time, I heard a father in a meeting with married couples say, 'I
sometimes have to smack my children a bit, but never in the face so as
not to humiliate them.' How beautiful! He knows the sense of dignity!
He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on."

Women
 "We cannot forget the irreplaceable role of women in the family. The
qualities of gentleness, of particular sensitivity and tenderness, which
is abundant in the female soul, represent not only a genuine force for
the life of families, for the irradiation of a climate of peace and
harmony, but also a reality without which the human vocation would
be unfeasible."
 "They are the strawberries on the cake, but we want more!"

Women Cardinals
 "I don't know where this idea sprang from. Women in the church must
be valued, not clericalized. Whoever thinks of women as cardinals
suffers a bit from clericalism."

Women Priests
 "The Church has spoken and said: 'No.' John Paul II said it, but with a
definitive formulation. That door is closed.