Pope Francis plans to offend American conservative Christians with the publication of an explosive interview in which he decries their “suicidal attitude.”
The pope’s 60 Minutes episode will be shown on Sunday and could strain his already poor relations with the Roman Catholic Church in the US.
His sit-down with Norah O’Donnell was recorded on April 24.
Francis was asked by conservatives, including American clergy, for his views on the opposition to his papacy.
Pope Francis says in an explosive interview that American conservative Catholics have a ‘suicidal attitude’
He responded by saying that a conservative is someone who “clings to something and doesn’t want to look beyond it.”
“It’s a suicidal attitude,” he says, according to a transcript excerpt from CBS.
‘One thing is to take tradition into account, to take into account situations from the past, but something completely different is to lock it up in a dogmatic box.’
Francis has clashed with Christian conservatives almost since his election as head of the church in 2013.
In December, he controversially approved allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples
That radical policy change aimed to make the church more inclusive while maintaining a ban on same-sex marriage.
In the interview, Francis defends the move, saying the blessing was for the people, and not for “the union” itself.
“Some people were shocked by this. But why?’ he asks.
He added that homosexuality was not a crime but a “human fact.”
Some of the pope’s progressive policies have strained his ties with Catholic leaders in the US
Conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke was stripped of a number of Vatican privileges last year
Conservatives oppose making the church more welcoming to LGBT people and giving laypeople a bigger role in the institution.
Yet some of the pope’s moves are closer to conservative positions.
A Vatican document approved by Francis last month says gender fluidity, sex change procedures and surrogacy are affronts to human dignity.
The pope’s progressive approach brought him into conflict with prominent American Catholics.
Francis last year fired conservative Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who had been a scathing critic of his papacy.
It is very rare for a bishop to be removed from office outright; he is usually allowed to resign without much fuss.
The Pope said at the time that the conservative wing in the American church was “reactionary.”
He also deprived conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke of some Vatican privileges, including a large subsidized apartment and his salary.