Was the Pope talking about excluding the elderly?
by Jim Plautz on 10/27/15
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday appeared to lecture church elders at the closing of a landmark summit on the family, suggesting they should not be quick to exclude a broad array of people deserving of God's grace.
In a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to mark the end of the three-week summit — known as a synod — Francis seemed to target narrowness, focusing his homily on the biblical story of a blind man named Bartimaeus, whom Jesus engages during a journey.
"None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did," Francis said in what at times appeared to be a scolding tone.
He continued, "If Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf. His problem was not their problem. This can be a danger for us. In the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like him."