In a long interview, Pope Francis shared that in his opinion, the Church has become too obsessed with contraception, abortion and gay marriages. In the process, its real purpose to serve the poor has take a back bench, the pope commented.

On Thursday, the Pope's interview was published, immediately after which the entire fraternity went into shock mode. Either the comments have hit home or the critics are adamantly sticking to their morals. Whatever the reason, many individuals in the Roman Catholic church became a tad defensive.

Priests for Life national director Rev. Frank Pavone was quoted by The New York Times as saying that he had spoken about the priority of the abortion issue on the same day at the Vatican. “Nobody should try to use the words of the pope to minimize the urgent need to preach and teach about abortion,” he said.

As part of the interview for the Italian Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica, Francis told editor in chief Rev. Antonio Spadaro that the insistent obsession with the disjointed multitude of doctrines is not necessary at all times.

“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,” the Pope was quoted as saying. Only 6 months into his Papacy, Pope Francis stays at the Vatican guesthouse instead of the papal apartment as he feels it is less isolated. “I cannot live without people,” he said in the interview.

Outside the church, the Pope's words were received with relief and gratitude. Francis has rightly said that, over the year, morals and their implementation have taken too much attention rather than serving the poor.

(AW: Sruthi)