'Who am I to judge?': The pope's most powerful phrase in 2013
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By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
Could five little words uttered in 2013 change the course of the Catholic Church?
Pope Francis — also known as Time's Person of the Year and Twitter's #bestpopeever — has done a lot of talking since he was installed on the throne of St. Peter in March, tackling everything from luxury cars to income inequality in a series of interviews, sermons and written exhortations.
But for veteran Vatican watcher John Thavis, the pontiff's most significant pontificating came July 29 when he gave a press conference on a flight back from Brazil.
"Who am I to judge?" he asked.
Francis was addressing the issue of gays in the church, but it was the tone as much as the topic that caught the public's attention.
"The fact is that previous popes in talking about homosexuality had always mentioned the word 'disordered' and when you use that term, it immediately alienates," said Thavis, author of "The Vatican Diairies."
"Not only did Francis not use that word. He avoided the whole concept."
The fact that the pope — the infallible leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics — refused to sit in judgement of gay priests (who were banned by his predecessor) was hailed as remarkable, even revolutionary.
It's an approach he has taken on any number of subjects — atheists, unwed mothers, divorcees. Scolding is out in Rome; hand-holding is in.
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