Pope Francis: Catholics Need To Stop Being Bigots!

The Pope is an O.G.

The Catholic Church nominated a progressive pope.

The pope has rattled the Catholic church over his apparent dismissal of the religious right. The pope made references to the changing demographics and told the church it's time for a change.

The religious right have been against gay marriage, abortions and contraception for women.

Francis has spoken and the world is listening.

He told the religious right to pipe down and get over their obsession with trying to scorn those who aren't followers of the faith.

He acknowledge that even though the Catholic Church isn't keen on abortions, gay marriage and contraception, he warned that the younger generation aren't supporting the old ways.  He's not a huge fan of these issues but he's telling the faithful to accept thy.

He wants to put the Catholic Church in the present day.

Throughout his life, both as an individual and a religious leader, Francis has been noted for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths.

The New York Times report that six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics.

His surprising comments came in a lengthy interview in which he criticized the church for putting dogma before love, and for prioritizing moral doctrines over serving the poor and marginalized. He articulated his vision of an inclusive church, a “home for all” — which is a striking contrast with his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, the doctrinal defender who envisioned a smaller, purer church.

Francis told the interviewer, a fellow Jesuit: “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.

“We have to find a new balance,” the pope continued, “otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

The pope’s interview did not change church doctrine or policies, but it instantly changed its tone. His words evoked gratitude and hope from many liberal Catholics who had felt left out in the cold during the papacies of Benedict and his predecessor, John Paul II, which together lasted 35 years. Some lapsed Catholics suggested on social media a return to the church, and leaders of gay rights and gay Catholic groups called on bishops to abandon their fight against gay marriage.

But it left conservative and traditionalist Catholics, and those who have devoted themselves to the struggles against abortion, gay marriage and artificial contraception, on the defensive, though some cast it as nothing new.

“Nobody should try to use the words of the pope to minimize the urgent need to preach and teach about abortion,” said the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, who said he spoke Thursday about the “priority of the abortion issue” at a Vatican conference.

I'm not truly a religious type of person, but from what's being said today, makes me think that the church isn't that bad. But you know it's just words, not actions.

Pope Francis will have detractors and criticism. It comes with the territory, but it's a start for the Catholic Church to move in the future and not on the rigid past.

Read more of Pope Francis statements in the New York Times by clicking here.