The Vatican declared on Monday that the Catholic church will not bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.”
This hateful sentiment was expressed in a formal response published by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to the question “Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?”
They boldly responded: “Negative.”
The explanatory note that followed went on to say that God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him.”
It followed that up by addressing that while some elements of LGBTQ+ unions can be positive, those elements “exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”
It finished by stating that the church welcomed and blessed gay people but not their unions. In other words, they want homosexual people to feel welcomed in the Catholic church but not welcome to express their homosexuality, urging folks to be closeted but Catholic.
Same message as always.
Since the letter came from the Vatican it was okayed by the Pope. THE Pope. The “cool pope” the “brope” the guy loved by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The man who shocked the world when he said that “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God.”
Imagine! A high-powered Catholic religious figure enabling a persecuted, guilt-ridden group of people to feel comfortable with their own existence. His stance was revolutionary for the Catholic church which moves at a glacial pace to make change.
And now, predictably, he has flip-flopped on his support of homosexual people. Reverend Emmett G. Price III commented, “This is really disgraceful, because he turns against his own personal beliefs and his own stated opinions in this area.”
Many people view his new stance as a way to appease conservatives in the church who felt enraged by his “revolutionary ideas.” LGBTQ+ groups, who were previously put in the unique position of actually agreeing with something the Catholic church said about gay people have been more than disappointed.
Reverend Irene Monroe commented, “Clearly they didn’t get the message in the scripture that “love is love.” If the Catholic hierarchy doesn’t get anything else, they need to get this: Gay people love Jesus just as much as straight people.”
Pope Francis’s previous decision to support gay people was seen as an effort to modernize the church and attract more people to it. By now clarifying that it’s still not okay to be gay in Catholicism, he’ll indubitably turn more people away from the religion.
Of course, it’s worth noting that the Pope did not write the determination himself. However, since he’s head of the church he does have extensive influence over matters of the doctrine. By not sticking to what he knows is right he’s again clarified to gay people that they are not welcome in Catholicism, cementing its legacy as a dying, prejudiced religion, unwilling to modernize and treat people like human beings.
