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EDITORIAL: Pope advocates greater tolerance

April 17th, 2016 5:00 PM

By Southern Star Team

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By advocating more tolerance towards those who do not agree with and live by the strict doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church in his latest document, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ (The Joy of Love), Pope Francis hopes to make the institution less judgemental towards those who could be termed a la carte Catholics.  

BY advocating more tolerance towards those who do not agree with and live by the strict doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church in his latest document, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ (The Joy of Love), Pope Francis hopes to make the institution less judgemental towards those who could be termed a la carte Catholics.

While he was never in a position to change the fundamental laws of the Church on issues such as contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage and divorce, the Pope has advised his clerics that, when ‘proposing to the faithful the full ideal of the Gospel and the church’s teaching, must also help them to treat the weak with compassion, avoiding aggravation or unduly harsh or hasty judgements.’

He wants them to recognise the realities of modern day life and living and to be more pastorally-aware, warning against ‘wasting pastoral energy on denouncing a decadent world without being proactive in proposing ways of finding true happiness.’ The Pope is even open to married couples giving advice to trainee priests to better understand the problems people face in the real world.

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