In an earlier blog I suggested that many see Catholicism as an “or else” religion whose teachings all begin within “thou shalt not” rather than a community of sinners proclaiming God’s love and forgiveness.

Yesterday I was delighted to read that Pope Francis has made the same point far more simply and eloquently. The Church is not a body of doctrines, a smorgasbord from which we may pick and choose what to preach, but the Word of God which must be proclaimed in its fullness.

Each of us must resist the temptation to choose a particular teaching of the Church as the touchstone of our orthodoxy while disregarding others as less important. In doing so we both distort and betray the Gospel and the image of the Church. We also lie to ourselves.

If we don’t agree with what the Holy Father teaches, we don’t need a new Pope, we need a new attitude.

I urge you to read the Pope’s entire interview to discover what an exceptional man God has given us. http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview

Image Credit: CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters