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I consider myself a "cultural Catholic"-- I was brought up by parents who were raised in very Catholic households but neither one was particularly taken with the details. The traditions and rituals are comforting to me and feel homey.

The flip side is I have had a hard time finding peace with a lot of the issues that Pope Francis is helping to address. I don't know that I will ever find myself being a full fledged Catholic but I am happy he is setting such a loving example. I really admire him and I hope he is able to continue to be a positive influence.

I'm not Catholic but I was happy to hear the news above. I still respect Pope Francis as a religious leader and someone who can help instill more peace and harmony in the world (or who alternatively can continue to drive a wedge between varying groups of people). From what I've seen so far I've been impressed with the way he has conducted himself.

The think it's a great step to "update" the Catholic Church.

I'm not Catholic, but there are definitely some aspects I can agree with...

...must be like a "field hospital after battle," healing the wounds of its faithful and going out to find those who have been hurt, excluded or have fallen away.
"It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars!" Francis said. "You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else."

That is so very very true & when we (the church) lose that then not only do we turn off others to Christ's teachings, but we have a bunch of broken followers that miss the freedoms/point/call of Christs sacrifice.

I don't agree with/think that this is the "problem" with the Church (Catholic) though...... that's a completely different topic that has more to do with doctrine & not attitude of the Church's purpose.

I'm super excited about it! I have chosen to stick with the church because I feel a deep spiritual connection with it, even though, as a liberal, I have struggled in that "relationship" at times.

I love this Pope. This interview was amazing, and I think it's a great step forward. But what a lot of people may not realize is that he didn't say anything in that interview that the Church doesn't already profess somewhere in its doctrine. It's just that sometimes, these doctrines are so squeezed in favor of the "hot button" political issues that they get completely overlooked. I agree with him that the Church *has* to find more balance. It's just nice to see that coming from the curia as well.