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Church 'too focused on abortion'
Pope Francis has said the Catholic Church is too focused on preaching about abortion, gay people and contraception. He also warned that the Church's "moral edifice is likely to fall like a house of cards" unless it "heals wounds".
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Church's moral structure could 'fall like a house of cards'
Pope Francis has warned that the Church's moral structure could "fall like a house of cards" unless it changed.
The Pope - who was elected as the 266th Pontiff in March - said the Church had become engulfed in "small-minded rules", insisting the church needed to find a new balance to "heal wounds" of its faithful.
"We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel," he said in his first major interview of his papacy.
Pope: 'Church is too focused on gays and abortion'
Pope Francis has said the Catholic Church is too focused on preaching about abortion, gay people and contraception, in the first major interview of his papacy.
Speaking to Jesuit magazine, Pope Francis said: "We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible.
"The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.''
In July, the Pope told reporters he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation in a move away from the views traditionally held by the Roman Catholic Church.