Pope Francis has made controversial remarks regarding the moral teachings of the Church in a recent interview with the Jesuit magazine La Civilta Cattolica.

Pope Francis said that he felt the church needs to stop “obsessing” and talking about the same issues all the time.

“We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.” Francis said in interviews conducted by a fellow Jesuit, the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, editor of La Civilta Cattolica, referring to sexual moral issues.

When speaking strictly of his views on gays, Francis reflected back on his trip in July to Brazil, where the subject of the church’s stance on homosexuals’ contribution to the church came up.

“During the return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge,” Pope Francis said.

These comments are causing reactions around the world as well as on campus. Iona is a Catholic school, after all.

Sophomore Meral Kathwari thinks this change in focus is a good thing.

“He’s definitely going in the right direction because our world is evolving everyday and becoming more modern,” she said. “It’s great that he’s treating everyone as equal. It’s about time someone of his status stood up in support of these things. As people, we can’t always live our lives by the book and try to control certain things.”

Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics Dr. Theresa Delgado feels what is being called a “new view” is not really new at all.

“He is trying to turn the Church toward its teaching on social ethics so that we’re addressing the root causes of poverty, injustice, environmental damage, etc. These are not new. But unfortunately, the Church has seemed to be overly focused on what I call “ethics in the strike zone,” that is what happens between our chest and our knees, namely around sexuality,” she said. “And that singular focus – on issues like homosexuality, divorce, contraception, premarital sex – has been at the expense of the range of other concerns facing the majority of people in the world, like where the next meal is coming from, or how to find work to sustain a family, or the ability to access clean drinking water and basic medical care.”

Pope Francis decided to clarify his remarks and say that he is not condoning abortions and that he still would like Catholic doctors to refuse to practice them.

“Every child that isn’t born, but is unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of Jesus Christ, has the face of the Lord,” the Pope said in front of many gynecologists only a day after his previous remarks.

“Every pope has a different strategy, what I think he’s saying is, those are important issues and the church has got to keep talking about them, but we need to talk about them in a fresh new way. If we keep kind of a negative finger-wagging tone, it’s counterproductive,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan in an interview with CBS News. Dolan will be the 2014 Iona College undergraduate commencement keynote speaker.

Pope Francis started his papacy with new beginnings and seems to be continuing to pursue a modern look at the Catholic Church.