Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, a leading conservative in the Roman Catholic hierarchy, defended himself Tuesday against perceptions that he is hostile to the more liberal inclusiveness of Pope Francis.
“I think the question is: Is there a discontinuity between the leadership of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, and the new kind of leadership of Francis?
I think no,” he said in an interview.
“Francis keeps saying he is a son of the church, which means he’s not going to abandon the church’s teachings.”
To conservatives alarmed by some of Francis’ recent remarks – such as “who am I to judge” homosexuals, or assurances that atheism is no bar to heaven – Chaput proposed that “we should look at him after a year, rather than trying to size him up at each speech.”
He predicted that if Francis perceived that the laity was misconstruing his message, he would “adjust his style.”
Criticism that Chaput had publicly faulted Francis as voicing tolerant views toward homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and artificial contraception, all of which the Catholic Church has long opposed, is “not fair,” he said.
“I was not criticizing the Holy Father,” Chaput said of remarks in June to the National Catholic Reporter.
However, he cautioned against those who “want to use the pope to further their own agendas, and others [who] want to ignore the pope so they can promote their own agendas.” Continue reading
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