Roman Catholic Women Priests Beaumont and Lee Comment on Pope Francis in News-Press

The following is excerpted from an article on response to Pope Francis’ ‘revolutionary’ thinking( as written in America Magazine) published in the Friday Sept. 20,2013 Fort-Myers News-Press  written by Jackie Winchester:

“His new statement about women seems to indicate he does not see women as inferior,” Beaumont said. “Perhaps he is realizing that God’s call to priesthood is not limited by gender and that God does call whom God calls and through a process of discernment women are now being validly ordained.”

Pope Francis also told the magazine that the dogmatic and the moral teachings of the church, which has 1.2 billion members worldwide, were not all equivalent.

“The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently,” he said. “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.”

Rather, he said, the Catholic Church 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.

“Pope Francis brings a tremendous freshness and joy with him that permeates through the writings that are inspiring Catholics around the world,” Atwell said.

Lee and Beaumont said they support Pope Francis as a “pope of the poor and a pope of the outcast. We love what he does in terms of humility and giving a priority on service to the poor.”

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