Oct 2, 2013 4 min read

Imagine the prospect of taking over an organization racked by horrible scandals, financial misdeeds, embarrassing leaks to the news media and internecine feuding among competing factions. But this is not a corporation or government agency we’re talking about. It’s the Catholic Church, and it’s pretty much what Pope Francis faced as he assumed the helm in March.

To date, the pontiff seems to not only be up to the task of reforming the church, but relishing the challenge, and he’s been upsetting the applecarts of church traditionalists every step of the way.

First, there are what are known, in politics, as the social issues.

As a New York Times writer put it, Francis “sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church” when he said in an interview that the church had become “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraception.

In the discussion with a fellow Jesuit, Francis said, “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. We have to find a new balance. Otherwise, even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

In other words, look at the “big picture.”

It’s quite a break from the approach and public pronouncements of his predecessors, especially the most recent pope, Benedict, who was a hardliner’s hardliner when it came to adherence to doctrine.

In his public comments, Francis also has been much more welcoming to gay Catholics, who previously had been given the old “love the sinner, hate the sin” treatment by the church.

In July, while traveling back to Rome after attending World Youth Day in Brazil, Francis was asked about homosexuality and replied, “Who am I to judge?”

In his interview published by the Jesuits, he said, “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me, when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of the person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person.”

That’s a refreshing change.

Francis, in a response to a question posed by an Italian journalist, also struck a conciliatory tone toward atheists, saying, “Given – and this is a fundamental thing – that God’s mercy has no limits, if He is approached with a sincere and repentant heart, the question for those who do not believe in God is to abide by their own conscience. There is sin, also for those who have no faith, in going against one’s own conscience.”

Again, the sea change from Francis’ predecessors is striking.

As he convened a meeting earlier this week with cardinals from around the world to chart a course of reform, Francis said he seeks a missionary church like the one envisioned by his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.

“We need to give hope to young people, help the aged and open ourselves to the future and spread love,” said Francis, who shuns many of the trappings that sometimes made the popes who came before him appear more emperor than man of the cloth.

He believes the church has failed to build on the opening provided by the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, and hopes to take on that task.

It’s an incredibly tall order, and we hope that Francis, who soon will be 77, has the time and energy to see his vision become reality.

It’s undeniable that the Catholic Church, especially at local levels, performs many great works around the globe. Its potential to do greater good, to reach more people with the message that Francis is preaching, also is clear.

We wish him Godspeed.