Reconciliation

Pope Francis, with five monosyllabic words, has moved the Church from the Dark Ages to the 21st Century. As I wrote in Art, Life and the Papacy in March, the next pope needed to be a healer to save the Church from its own self-destruction.

As a Christian, I believe the whole mission of Jesus Christ was all about mercy and forgiveness. The obvious parable, or story, concerns the woman who was accused of being a prostitute. As the story goes, the punishment for such a crime was stoning. The masses yelled and screamed at her, calling her names.

Jesus stepped in and told the crowd the one with no sin should throw the first stone. After a moment when no stone was thrown, he asked the woman if anyone threw one. She said no. He responded, "nor shall I. Go and sin no more."

This basic precept has been lost by the Church, especially as it relates to gays and lesbians, for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Until now. While speaking to reporters, he turned to his spokesman to ask for a word that would sum up the Church's previous position. "Marginalized" was the word he felt that gays and others were treated.

While this does not say that the Church now thinks homosexuality is acceptable, it does mean that gay and lesbian Catholics should no longer feel that the Church or the congregation shuns them for their orientation. This is a huge first step in the Church's views on a plethora of issues.

Hopefully, Pope Francis will speak to a modern view concerning celibacy, birth control and other important topics facing the 21st century Church. If he truly wants to heal the deep wounds, he will come to terms with today's society.

After all, "Who am I to judge."