David Gibson: Francis Re-Orients the Catholic Church

WNYC News | Apr 14, 2014

"Is the Pope Catholic?"

No doubt you've heard this sarcastic, obvious question. But one year into his papacy, some of Pope Francis' actions and statements have had liberals and conservatives alike wondering, because he's so shifted the Roman Church's emphasis and tone.

In this interview, David Gibson, a Brooklyn-based reporter for Religion News Service and biographer of Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI, says everyone's getting it a little bit wrong when it comes to Pope Francis.

"He's trying to re-orient the entire discussion about Catholicism, and in doing so, re-orient the church," Gibson explains. "It's not doctrine first...it's about the Gospel, it's about Jesus Christ, it's about how we treat each other, it's about mercy, it's about all these things that then lead, perhaps, to doctrinal formulations."

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