The damage is done

[8] But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. [9] By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. [10] Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
 -- Epistle Of Saint James Ch. 3:8-10

Today, the headline from LifeSiteNews is "Pope condemns abortion in strongest pro-life comments to date".

The comments come one day after the release of an in-depth interview in which the Pope had explained that despite criticism he has avoided speaking about moral issues like abortion and gay “marriage” in his papacy, instead focusing on preaching about the love of Christ.

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods,” Pope Francis had said in remarks that were widely interpreted as a call for Church leaders to downplay the Church’s moral teachings on controversial issues.

"I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that," the Pope had explained. "But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time."

In response to that interview the United State’s largest abortion advocacy organization, NARAL Pro-Choice America, even posted an image thanking the pope for his comments on their Facebook and Twiter pages. But NARAL’s celebrations were cut short by today’s blunt remarks by the Pope, in which he urged doctors to respect life "from the first instant of conception."

Too little, too late. The damage is done.

His previous statements are out there in the public and on the internet. They will be repeated ad infinitum and any statements he now makes regarding the immorality of abortion will simply be ignored.

Here is how "religion editor" Laura Goodstein of the New York Times described the pope's original statements in an article titled "Pope Says Church Is ‘Obsessed’ With Gays, Abortion and Birth Control".

Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics.

This is the story that will be repeated over and over again.

Surely the pope should have known this when he issued his statement. No doubt that the Jesuit magazines that published the interviewer were counting on this.

While the mass media likes to portray the Church as being "obsessed" with sexual issues, it is actually the other way around. The mass media is totally obsessed with sex and only pays any attention to the Church when she expresses her God given teachings on this subject.