Francis to faithful: Give up your riches to help the poor

[Thats my opinion]

22. We need to divide two kinds of issues.

The first we might call juridical issues--gay rights, women priests, abortion and birth control, the nature of the Vatican establishment. The Catholic church moves very slowly--sometimes so slowly it is impossible to see any progress. When it takes a great leap forward, such as with John XXIII and Vatican II, there is an almost immediate pull back. I doubt if in the foreseeable future there will be any visible movement on married priests,women priest or gay rights, or sexual matters.

The second we might call matters of social justice. These have to do with economics, the poor, and the other issues highlighted in liberation theology. While the church also pulled back from moving boldly ahead on these issues, there was some residual understanding that they had to be addressed. Francis' acknowledgment that the poor had to be a priority of the church provides a crack in the conservative philosophy that has dominated the Vatican. Time will tell what progress can come from his new stance