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Hi Leila,
You need to call your pastor on this. Ask him for a specific reference.
If he can't provide one, explain that we need to understand it in context
before we draw sweeping conclusions based on it (as
I believe you quite wisely recognize).
- Is your pastor is using this quote to justify some outrageous
position or approach?
The statement, as it stands, is so broad and has holes so big that you
could drive a truck through it. It's entirely possible that the pope
said something that resembles this, in a particular context. For example,
he might be discussing the Gospel passage of the woman caught in adultery,
where Jesus is gentle with an adulteress. While we should be gentle
with repentant sinners, and this is where some people
stop short, Jesus
also said, Go and sin no more, such that gentleness for sinners
does not mean gentleness for (or tolerance of) sin.
In general, there are times when it is appropriate to be gentle and times
it is appropriate to be severe. There are issues we should be flexible
on and issues we should not be flexible on. Understanding, which is which,
depends on the context of what was said. Unfortunately, I am not familiar
with everything the pope has said or written in recent times so I can't
identify this work; perhaps one of my colleagues has run across it.
Ultimately,
the burden of proof is on your pastor.
Eric
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