A correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time, Pope Francis said recently during a meeting wih Jesuits in Portugal.
The Pope’s comments in Lisbon recognized divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who long found support in the doctrinaire papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.
There is “a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” in the U.S. church, which the 86-year-old pontiff called “backward.” He warned that such an attitude leads to a climate of closure, which was erroneous. “The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong,” he added. “When you go backward, you make something closed off, disconnected from the roots of the church,” which then has devastating effects on morality.
Francis said his critics should understand that “there is an appropriate evolution in the understanding of matters of faith and morals.”
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