<<You pose a false alternative.>>

I did not.  Your quibble is not with me, but with the Word of God in Hosea and in Matthew.  

I asked a rhetorical question, to which the prophet Hosea gives the answer, putting it in God’s own mouth:  It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice; and I quoted Jesus, who affirms Hosea’s insight, and recommends it to us for our meditation.  The priority of love and mercy over law and sacrifice in the Gospel of Jesus simply could not be more clear.  Many other concerns are valid and important, but in the absence of love and mercy rooted in the Gospel, they are social work, not ministry.

The question for the church is how to realize in the life and ministry of the church the priorities Jesus gave us.  In order to do that, one must begin by acknowledging the priorities -- not fudging them or trying to explain them away.  Pope Francis is helping us to do that.