Pope Francis' 5 Most-Controversial Comments
Church Should Stop Being 'Obsessed' With Social Issues
In September 2013, Pope Francis was quoted as having claimed that the Catholic Church was "obsessed" with the social issues, like abortion and gay marriage.
"Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic Church with the publication of his remarks that the Church had grown "obsessed" with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics," reported The New York Times.
"His surprising comments came in a lengthy interview in which he criticized the Church for putting dogma before love, and for prioritizing moral doctrines over serving the poor and marginalized."
However, since then Francis has often publicly commented on abortion and the family unit, with Catholic writers including professor Paul Kengor posting the full context of Francis' comments, in which the pontiff still mentioned the need to comment on the issues.
"I see the word 'obsessed' in there, but not quite the same way The New York Times and other liberal/progressive enthusiasts see it and have run with it full speed, full throttle," wrote Kengor in 2013.
"Liberals and liberal Catholics and secular progressives will run hog-wild with Francis' remarks, exaggerating and exploiting them for their completely contrary ideological, political, and cultural purposes."
