Pope Francis' softer tone could help heal divisions
Pope Francis remains a hope for change in the Catholic Church, even if he is still widely regarded as a conservative. His first press conference since he was elected last March to succeed Benedict XVI set him apart from his doctrinaire predecessor on two obvious counts.
Pope Francis remains a hope for change in the Catholic Church, even if he is still widely regarded as a conservative. His first press conference since he was elected last March to succeed Benedict XVI set him apart from his doctrinaire predecessor on two obvious counts. Unlike Benedict, who would take only a few vetted questions on notice, the 76-year-old Argentinian fielded 21 questions without notice during his flight home from Brazil, staying on his feet for 80 minutes.
And there was substance beneath the change of style, with Pope Francis responding to a question about a gay lobby in the Vatican by softening the hard line adopted by Benedict, who ultimately found the priesthood and homosexuality incompatible. His remarks made headlines around the world. "If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?" he said. He went on to distinguish homosexual orientation - "not sinful" - from homosexual acts, saying that people must not be marginalised because of orientation but integrated into society. In respect of a "gay lobby" in the Vatican, he said the problem was not orientation, but "lobbying by this orientation".
The first Latin American head of the church is likely to disappoint those looking for an early change of stance on controversial issues. Some commentators claimed the Pope was doing no more than upholding church teaching, as he did by declaring the church's ban on women priests as definitive, though there was room for them to assume more leadership in administration and pastoral duties.
But the softening of emphasis was unmistakable. The abiding tone of the news conference was accessibility, engagement and openness to debate. He and his advisers in the Vatican will need these qualities in abundance if they are to reconcile the concerns of 350 million followers in the West over sex-abuse scandals, birth control, gay marriage and women priests with the more respectful attitude to authority of twice as many Catholics in the developing world.