Uproar over Pope France comments on Gay Civil Unions

I’ve received a flurry of emails from my more conservatives Catholic friends regarding Pope Francis’ comments in an interview about gay Civil Unions. The wailing and nashing of teeth by those trying to assure each other that this is NOT Catholic Doctrine! The Pope is NOT infallible. Gays are NOT  allowed to be married in our Church, the Pope is a little careless in his choice of words, etc. etc. 

I guess I made the mistake of responding to one validating that these were just comments the Pope made in an interview trying to open up discussion. I added the fact that when I was in Catholic school 100 years ago, we were taught that the Pope was infallible. I sent along a link to a history of the few times the Pope’s declaration have been deemed infallible.  My email either want clear that I agreed with the sender and my fact based links were not read so I got more responses of assurance sent to me.

Once again, I was forwarded an email sent to a congregation by a priest assuring his flock that “It ain’t true!” 

So, fool that I am, I responded with three following:

 This agrees with what we both said. The Pope’s comments are just that, comments. They’re not set in stone as Church doctrine. As mentioned, he is starting a discussion about inclusivity just by talking about gay Civil Unions. 

Interesting though that Fr. Gregg soothes folks about the opinions of one Pope, with those of another made in 1975! The footnotes are from Bishops Conferences, etc. in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s. 

Surely the world has changed since then, and continues to change?  Surely discussion about concepts are allowed to take place without misinterpretation of fact or fear of change? Hopefully, we learn and grow with it along with our understanding of others unlike ourselves. What was once a very insular church has slowly continued to change, as it has throughout the centuries. Thank goodness we no longer send out armed soldiers on Crusades or hold Inquisitions to persecute Jews and Muslims, or in more recent times, the Irish persecuting and mistrusting Italian immigrants who came here after them, and not tolerating their Churches or Church traditions surrounding celebrating feasts of Saints.

I find it curious that so many people are already up in arms even about the concept of civil Unions of gays in 2020. In a time when it’s so important for us to at least try to understand all of our differences, folks want to retreat into their comfortable shells. 

No discussion, just send out a flurry of emails assuring each other it’s not true, not happening, not allowed, instead of “Why did Pope Frances make the comment? What was the context of the remark? Why would a gay person want to be married in a civil union? Could I ever accept that notion if the church did condone it? How do I feel about interracial marriage? How would I feel if a gay person, or gay couple, a Trans person, or a black family moved next door to me?” 

People were very upset after the Second Vatican Council under John XXIII. You were too young at the time to remember the full impact, but trying to drag people into the modern world was a life changing event and a lot of people came along kicking and screaming! 

Switching from a Latin Mass to English or in language was HUGE, along with turning the altars around so the priest faced the congregation, stopping the use of very ornate robes and trappings, bringing in non traditional music, guitars and so many other changes, physical and mental. 

Change is hard. Moving away from what is comforting and familiar is hard. Accepting new ideas is hard.

I hope to always be able to keep an open mind no matter how old or set in my ways I become.

Subject: Fr. Gregg's Response to Recent News about Pope Francis



Dear OLV Family, This week a documentary was released that contains quotes from Pope Francis that make it sound like he is promoting Same-Sex Civil Unions, which would be contrary to Official Church Teaching.     Whether this segment was edited intentionally to mislead people (see article here *) or whether he said them and meant them, a Pope's comments in an interview do NOT equal Official Church Teaching.  Just like a Pope's comments at a cocktail party do not equal Official Church Teaching.  So, no, the teachings of the Church have not changed at all. Because these confusing statements from the film have circulated around the world, Pope Francis should issue a statement of clarity for the sake of the faithful.  If he does not, it would be a grave sin of omission and negligent of his Office. To learn the Church's Official Teaching on this issue please read the short document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Fatih, promulgated by St. John Paul II,   CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING PROPOSALS TO GIVE LEGAL RECOGNITION TO UNIONS BETWEEN HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS (here). Here is a quote from paragraph 11, Conclusion: "The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions."  Forgive the brevity of this response, I hope to address this topic more fully soon. In Christ, Fr. Gregg * the linked article does not mean that I support the author, website, or even all the statements from the article, it is simply one example to show that the Pope's statements came from a longer conversation and that YouTube has removed the original interview so that it cannot be viewed in United States.