Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church not to focus so much on homosexuality, abortion and contraception. He asks the Church authorities to be practise more mercy.

On Sept 19, America published an article consisting of 12,000 words based on an interview of Pope Francis, conducted in August 2013. Pope Francis had the interview with La Civilta Cattolica editor, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, for the Italian magazine.

The article was, according to America editor Jesuit Father Matt Malone, personally reviewed as well as approved of by Pope Francis himself before getting published. The article has also been published in other language versions on various other Jesuit publications.

Pope Francis warned that the moral structure of the Church might "fall like a house of cards" if it remained unchanged. He said that the Church must "heal wounds" by showing more balance in approach. Additionally, he also talked about his cultural preferences and his own limitations as a person in the interview.

Pope Francis shows significant divergence in approach from his predecessors like Benedict XVI and John Paul II who believed in following doctrine as the ultimate guide for clergy. He said that there should be a balance, otherwise the moral order of the church would lose the "freshness and fragrance" of the Gospel.

On the other hand, Pope Francis insisted that the Catholic Church should work on healing the injuries of the faithful while seeking out those who might have fallen away. He advised that the Church must transcend "small minded rules" or it might risk losing its actual purpose.

Pope Francis caused enough dismay among the U.S. clergy who have already been disappointed by the fact that he did not press Church on preaching against contraception, homosexuality and abortion.

AP reports that Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, expressed his disappointment last week in his diocesan newspaper as Pope Francis had not address abortion since he took charge six months back. On the other hand, Pope Francis said that he did not find the issue significant enough to talk about.

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