"Pope Francis warned Christians against turning their faith into a rigid ideology.

“The faith passes, so to speak, through a distiller and becomes ideology,” he said.
“And ideology does not beckon [people]. In ideologies there is not Jesus: in his tenderness,
his love, his meekness. And ideologies are rigid, always. Of every sign: rigid.

“And when a Christian becomes a disciple of the ideology, he has lost the faith:
he is no longer a disciple of Jesus, he is a disciple of this attitude of thought…
For this reason Jesus said to them: ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge.’
The knowledge of Jesus is transformed into an ideological and also moralistic knowledge,
because these close the door with many requirements.”

“The faith becomes ideology and ideology frightens, ideology chases away the people,
distances, distances the people and distances of the Church of the people,” Francis added.
“But it is a serious illness, this of ideological Christians. It is an illness, but it is not new, eh?”

He said Christian ideology was the result of a lack of true prayer."

Dave, I heard once that doctrines and practices even theology regardless of however well intentioned or useful are constructed by humans, ie "made by human hands." Whenever we set our doctines, etc. ahead or above the love of God and the commandments, we make our "ideologies" into idols. The commandments, per Jesus, come down to this: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Also, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Pope Francis is a genuine apostle, and tscc's got some 'spaining to do.

I take it you like new pope better than classic pope...?

but not quite. There is still too much built-in BS in the Catholic system.

But I LIKE this guy. He's like a breath of fresh air in the whole religious system. He GETS what it's all really about.

I hope no nutcase decides to take him out because he is such a changing force.

the new pope is all words.

He has never actually made any changes.

This bears repeating.
It's all PR and image. He's not actually anything new.

The new pope's words are better than any of the old popes' words.

A Catholic friend had an interesting comeback for a compliment I paid the new pope. She thinks he's trying to make up for the former pope who resigned under somewhat disgraceful conditions. She emphasized that the C. church is trying to bring back members who were disheartened by earlier events. Irregardless, I respect his attitude and message.

Is he really the first Jesuit Pope?