VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered
an olive branch of sorts to the doctrine-
minded, conservative wing of the Catholic
Church on Friday as he denounced
abortions as a symptom of today's "throw-
away culture" and encouraged Catholic
doctors to refuse to perform them.
Francis issued a strong anti-abortion
message and cited Vatican teaching on the
need to defend the unborn during an
audience with Catholic gynecologists.
It came a day after he was quoted as
blasting the church's obsession with
"small-minded rules" that are driving the
faithful away. In an interview that has
sent shockwaves through the church,
Francis urged its pastors to focus on being
merciful and welcoming rather than
insisting only on such divisive, hot-button
issues as abortion, gay marriage and
contraception.
Even before the interview was published,
some conservatives had voiced
disappointment that Francis had shied
away from restating such church rules.
Francis explained his reason for doing so
in the interview with the Jesuit journal La
Civilta Cattolica, saying church teaching on
such issues is well-known, he supports it,
but that he doesn't feel it necessary to
repeat it constantly.
He did repeat it on Friday, however. In his
comments, Francis denounced today's
"throw-away culture" that justifies
disposing of lives, and said doctors in
particular had been forced into situations
where they are called to "not respect life."
"Every child that isn't born, but is unjustly
condemned to be aborted, has the face of
Jesus Christ, has the face of the Lord," he
said.
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.
Francis' comments to Civilta Cattolica
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.
John Paul II and Benedict XVI were both
intellectuals for whom doctrine was
paramount, an orientation that guided the
selection of a generation of bishops and
cardinals who, in countries like the United
States, have put themselves on the front
lines in opposing abortion and gay
marriage. They now find themselves being
asked to preach more to those who have
fallen away from the church and offer
them a compassionate welcome home.
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.'"
Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin,
Ireland's most reform-minded Catholic
leader, said Francis' comments will be
tough for the church to put into action
because there is a tendency to get "trapped"
into the right and wrong, white and black
of Catholic teaching.
"It's a way of thinking that will actually be
very hard for the right and the left of the
church, either of them, to accept," he told
RTE radio. But he said Francis wasn't
dismissing everything that has been taught
to date.
"He's saying let's move in a different
direction."
Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode
Island, just last week had said in an
interview with his diocesan newspaper
that he was "a little bit disappointed" that
Francis hadn't spoken out about abortion.
On Friday, in an official statement
responding to the La Civilta Cattolica
article, Tobin said he admired Francis'
leadership.
"Being a Catholic doesn't mean having to
choose between doctrine and charity,
between truth and love. It includes both.
We are grateful to Pope Francis for
reminding us of that vision," he said.
U.S. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who as head
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
has taken a lead role in voicing the U.S.
church's opposition to contraception and
gay marriage, said the church isn't the
only one obsessed with such issues —
today's culture is.
"Every pope has a different strategy,"
Dolan 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.'"
___
Tricia Thomas in Rome, Rachel Zoll in New
York and Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin
contributed.
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at
www.twitter.com/nwinfield