{"id":72,"date":"2015-09-17T13:42:01","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T17:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/?p=72"},"modified":"2016-03-26T09:37:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T13:37:16","slug":"pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved from the East Coast to California and I was lonely. I felt like a fish out of water. My father was traveling for work, my mother was immersed in the details of setting up our new home, and my older brother kept teasing me, saying he could see my epidermis. I was mortified, even though I had no clue what that meant.<\/p>\n

So, at the tender age of six, I hit the road. I didn\u2019t bother to pack a sweater or take a snack. As I started down the sidewalk I felt so disappointed, so lost. Suddenly, I heard something behind me\u2026 Footsteps. I whirled around and saw my mother running toward me. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d She was crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m running away,\u201d I answered sheepishly. \u201cWhy?\u201d She cried. \u201cDon\u2019t you know we love you? You\u2019re part of our family!\u201d I hadn\u2019t expected this to happen. My mother and I cried and hugged and she picked me up and carried me home.<\/p>\n

In a big way, this memory is closely connected to how I view Pope Francis\u2019 upcoming visit<\/a> to the US next week because I believe the man is only out for one thing\u2026 to welcome us home to the merciful arms of our Mother.<\/p>\n

Why We Run<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, there is no perfect Christian. We are all faced with temptation and sin, and we all fall. We have all run away from our Mother in that sense. But many people are estranged from the Church because of the choices they\u2019ve made, or because they disagree with one or more of her teachings. And while the Church upholds the teachings of Christ \u2013 teachings that cannot change \u2013 helping people to understand why these teachings are in place is key<\/em>. Unfortunately, many dissenting Catholics are often met by other faithful Catholics with a cold and rigid response; If you don\u2019t agree, you\u2019re a bad Catholic!<\/em><\/p>\n

But Pope Francis is out to change this accusatory attitude many \u201cgood\u201d Catholics have, and this was in his\u00a0message<\/a> in his September 15th mass at the Santa Marta residence:<\/p>\n

The Church is our mother and welcomes all of us as a mother: Mary our Mother, our Mother Church, and this motherhood are expressed through an attitude of welcome, understanding, goodness, forgiveness and tenderness.\u00a0 <\/em>\u2013 Vatican Radio, September 15, 2015<\/p>\n

The Holy Father may be a controversial figure<\/a>, but his message can\u2019t be any clearer\u2026 he\u2019s trying to wake up the faithful to the fact that we shouldn\u2019t be sitting on our self-erected thrones of religious fidelity, we should be tending to each other out of concern for each others\u2019 souls. To be Christian means to be merciful toward others.<\/p>\n

The Holy Father\u2019s visit to the United States also seems to be a nice segway to the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy<\/a> beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception<\/a>, Dec. 8th. This focus on the need for all of us to extend mercy to others is so relevant in our society today. Can you imagine what our world would be like if we all reacted with a forgiving and merciful attitude toward those who offend us? It would be bordering on Utopia.<\/p>\n

But, the Pope\u2019s visit is more than just sending a message to us, it is him personally giving us the example of how to live it. His recent changes to the annulment process <\/a>may have some reeling, but it\u2019s obvious he is trying to clear the obstacles that often intimidate estranged Catholics and prevent them from coming home.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis also loves being in contact with everyday people. He rides the bus instead of being driven by a chauffeur. He lives in a modest \u201chotel\u201d room at Santa Marta where the visiting clergy stay, instead of the Papal apartment at the Vatican. He refuses the bullet-proof shield on the Pope mobile when he is among the crowds because he wants to be close to them. Millions are re-considering their perspective on the Catholic Church because of the welcoming nature of this very personal pope, and it is my hope they will take advantage of this opportunity to be welcomed back into the arms of their Mother.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved from the East Coast to California and I was lonely. I felt like a fish out of water. My father was traveling for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3,20,24,8,23],"class_list":["post-72","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-relationships","tag-catholic-annulment","tag-divorced-and-civilly-remarried-catholics","tag-papal-visit","tag-pope-francis","tag-popeinamerica"],"yoast_head":"\nPope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lisa Duffy: A Million Unheard Souls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-17T17:42:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-26T13:37:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Duffy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Duffy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/\",\"name\":\"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing...\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-17T17:42:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-26T13:37:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#\/schema\/person\/09718436a9b47d81ab4f885dae7cc336\"},\"description\":\"When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing…\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/\",\"name\":\"Lisa Duffy: A Million Unheard Souls\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#\/schema\/person\/09718436a9b47d81ab4f885dae7cc336\",\"name\":\"Lisa Duffy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83cd30e3ddac3dbe6844e51350d3b730?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83cd30e3ddac3dbe6844e51350d3b730?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lisa Duffy\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/LisaDuffy.Com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/author\/lduffy\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing...","description":"When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing...","og_description":"When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/","og_site_name":"Lisa Duffy: A Million Unheard Souls","article_published_time":"2015-09-17T17:42:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-03-26T13:37:16+00:00","author":"Lisa Duffy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa Duffy","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/","name":"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing...","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-09-17T17:42:01+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-26T13:37:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#\/schema\/person\/09718436a9b47d81ab4f885dae7cc336"},"description":"When I was six-years-old, I ran away from home. I had a long list of reasons why I ran away that day. Part of it was because our family had just moved","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/2015\/09\/pope-francis-is-only-out-for-one-thing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope Francis Is Only Out For One Thing…"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/","name":"Lisa Duffy: A Million Unheard Souls","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#\/schema\/person\/09718436a9b47d81ab4f885dae7cc336","name":"Lisa Duffy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83cd30e3ddac3dbe6844e51350d3b730?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83cd30e3ddac3dbe6844e51350d3b730?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lisa Duffy"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/LisaDuffy.Com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/author\/lduffy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisaduffy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}