Shoes And Socks

One way to look at the differences that conservative hierarachs and the Pope have is the analogy of shoes and socks.  Francis says that people must first know they are loved.  Show mercy and forgiveness.  Show acceptance and inclusion.  Everyone wants to feel loved.  This is basic.  It is the putting on of the socks.  They have to go on before you put on the shoes.  The Conservatives, focused on doctrine, rules, right order of things as they see it, are trying to put on the shoe first.  And once the shoe is on, everyone must know how to tie a proper knot.  Improper knot tying means rejection.  The world is made up of those who can tie knots "properly" and those who cannot, or chose to tie their shoes differently, if at all.  Still, the sock is omitted.  Can you really feel loved, secure, if you know it is based upon "correctness" as defined by a certain group?  Jesus came to love.
his followers could not come close to getting all else of which Jesus spoke until they knew they were loved, accepted first.  Then they could be challenged.  Only then could they begin to live out the gospel.