section_path: Theological emphases and teachings/Morality
section_name: Morality
paragraph_text: Morality
  
  Cardinal Walter Kasper had called mercy "the key word of his pontificate".: 31–32 His papal motto Miserando atque eligendo ("by having mercy and by choosing") contains a central theme of his papacy, God's mercy. While maintaining the Catholic Church's traditional teaching against abortion, Francis had referred to the "obsession" of some Catholics with a few issues such as "abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods" which "do not show the heart of the message of Jesus Christ".