Kim Daniels, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, was interviewed by Christiane Amanpour on Ash Wednesday. Here are a couple of her responses:

Well, I’m so glad you highlighted that interview because I think it’s really important to put this in the context of Pope Francis’ global vision of renewal. It’s a hopeful vision. It’s a dynamic vision. And what he says is he says, it’s not about making the church a fortress, it’s about the church being a home with open doors where everyone is welcome, especially the poor, the vulnerable, those who have been left behind, those who are made to feel less than. And so, I think what Pope Francis was doing with this recent action is to say to LGBTQ people that too often the church has not acted, with humility, has not acted with treating people, as children of God with a dignity that everyone deserves. And because of that, we have to engage with welcome. We have to engage with offering these kinds of blessings to everybody….

Well, again, it’s about proposing. It’s not about imposing. This is an idea of welcome and mercy. And Pope Francis is saying that God’s mercy is overflowing. We cannot limit. Of course, there will be opposition. People live in different cultures, different contexts around the world. We are a global church of 1.4 billion people. And more than anyone, Pope Francis recognizes the diversity of this global church and the unity that we have to find at the center of it. But so, he allows different expressions of church teaching in many places. But at the same time, when it comes to backlash, conservative backlash, we also have to see that so much of that is narrow, it’s small, here in the United States in particular, and rooted here. And we have to say that, in fact, so many people see Pope Francis as a moral leader who is offering this hopeful, dynamic vision for the church going forward.

You can watch the full interview here: