Cindy Wooden

Recent popes have used the concept of a “Petrine principle” and a “Marian principle” to describe the important role women and men together play in the Catholic Church, but a biblical scholar writing in the Vatican newspaper said it is time to talk about the discriminatory and stereotypical notions behind it.

Even the most fervent believers go through moments of doubt and questioning about God, and it is a good thing, Pope Francis said, because it helps one see that God does not fit into the little box people make for him.

True love of God or love of another person should lead to a sense of freedom, not to a need to possess or control, Pope Francis said.