Posted on 07/29/2013 7:07:04 AM PDT by IbJensen
Pope Francis on Monday said “who am I to judge?” gay people as he discussed one of the most divisive issues affecting the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis, who gave a press conference on his flight back from Brazil, said he had stayed away from the gay marriage debate on his trip because he wanted to stay positive.
“I have yet to find anyone who has a business card that says he is gay,” the pontiff said at a press conference in which he addressed the reports of a "gay lobby" within the Vatican.
“They say they exist. If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” he added. "The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says they should not be marginalized because of this (orientation) but that they must be integrated into society."
Francis added that he thought lobbies of any kind -- including political ones -- were bad.
"The problem is not having this orientation. We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem," he said.
The press conference, which lasted for an hour and 20 minutes, was held during the flight back from his week-long trip to Brazil.
The official position of the Catholic Church on the issue is that while homosexual desires or attractions are not in themselves sinful, the physical acts are.
All priests take a vow of celibacy when they become members of the clergy.
The pontiff went to Brazil on his first visit overseas since he was elected in March.
The Pope said he had stayed away from the issue of gay marriage and also abortion on his week-long trip to Brazil because he wanted to stay positive.
Francis discussed a range of issues during the press conference, admitting that the church had not done enough to develop “the theology of women in the church.”
He said that the church had spoken on the issue of women priests and expressed itself clearly on the issue of abortion, but he added that important female biblical figures had been overlooked.
"Mary is more important than the apostles," he said. "One must think about women in the church. We have not done enough theology on this."
History's first Latin American pope said he was "pretty tired" but with a happy heart after his first overseas trip.
He said he was amazed at the number of people who turned out to see him in Brazil, especially the three million who jammed Copacabana Beach for Sunday's Mass.
He added that he was unconcerned by the tumultuous start to the trip that included the discovery of a bomb at a shrine he visited and the mob scene that took place when his driver inadvertently made wrong turn.
"There's always the danger of a crazy person, but there is also the Lord," he said. "This being close is good for everyone."
to = too above. Typo.
Elected before the world was created. Praise God.
Now there, my Brother, is the Gospel of Grace in Jesus Christ. Not some weird adoration of a woman who has feet of clay such as we. But, good, clear remarks directly from the Bible (Eph. 1:4). Great stuff. Thanks.
Hopefully this one won’t be around to long...
I believe you mean, "...show too much."
Well, I certainly hope that someone sees it, dear lady. I would be thrilled to know many understood I am calling Rome a cult.
You, however, have picked up the mantra of Rome (so many sects, etc.). Rome fails to notice there are so many sects of Rome (Jesuits, Franciscans, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Georgetown Univ.,etc.). Perhaps more variations exist on your errant theme than on the theme of the side which rejects Rome. So, physician heal thyself. The question is, what does the Bible teach?
Martin Luther was fooled by the Catholic Church for a number of years, then God helped him escape many of their tragic errors. Then he began to tell the story of Grace. But, not everything Luther wrote, however, is correct. And no one I know thinks Jesus created Lutheranity. Or Calvinanity.
But, Jesus Christ certainly created the Gospel of Grace, through faith, and none of that from ourselves...it is the gift of God, not by works, lest any man turn out to be like Rome. And, He did not say to venerate, adore, speak to His mother when she died and went to heaven. That belongs to Him, alone.
Where is she when you say this...in the chair next to you? If you are speaking to a person who has gone to heaven, you are either praying to her or playing word games.
Sorry you believe what I am telling you are "lies". The Scriptures would identify the traditions you have been taught as "doctrines of demons". Rome is built on power-grabbing lies, not the Gospel. The Gospel is set out clearly in the letters/journals which follow the four Gospels. Read it without bias...it debunks Rome.
ping
I believe you mean, “...show too much.”
See correction I made almost immediately in number 118. You obviously missed it.
“Jesuits, Franciscans, Immaculate Heart of Mary”
None of these are outside of the Catholic Church and are active parts of it. Nice try, but no soap.
“reductio ad absurdum. You and I have inclinations to sin, that is in our nature. We struggle with it but do not succumb — that struggle is what a Christian is expected to bear.”
No offense, but baloney. If I sit and dwell on murdering my fellow man every day, am I a sinner or a good Christian as long as I don’t act on it. Answer the question.
You just make things up based on your own sola scriptura interpretation of the Bible and then claim that as truth. The guy next to you in your Church pew could have a totally different interpretation of the Bible based on his sola scriptura opinion. In fact, your entire congregation at your Church could each have a different sola scriptura interpretation of Bible passages than yours. It’s endless, as endless in the myriad possible interpretations of the Bible as there are Protestants who read it and quote from it as they each wish it to mean. By the way, it was Catholics that put pen to paper, chose and created the chapters and books of the Holy Bible, not Protestants. Sorry, you had no hand in it. Catholics did. Protestants just popped up around the 1500’s and claimed it as your own. Laughable. You need to post a footnote on any of your religious comments giving credit to the Catholics for having created the Bible in the first place. Otherwise you are plagarizing.
“If I sit and dwell on murdering my fellow man every day, am I a sinner or a good Christian as long as I don’t act on it. Answer the question.”
Yes, as long as you follow Christ with your heart. You conviently left that requirement out of your question.
“Yes, as long as you follow Christ with your heart. You conviently left that requirement out of your question.”
You know, you are being ridiculous. You tell me how you can constantly be thinking about murdering your fellow man and at the same time be following Christ with your heart. Geez. Ludicrous.
So he can’t “judge” per se but he could say that Homosexuality is an obama-nation.
Would have like to see you correct a whole lot more than just that.
If you would drill down on most of your Catholic friends, you would notice that most of them have differing ideas about a lot of headquarter’s doctrines. There is even a Catholic group advocating abortion. One ordaining homosexuals. Please...don’t parade your unity around. The slip is showing.
But, the Catholic Church has morphed itself into a collection of unbiblical traditions without any basis. We have been over this before, but notice “indulgences” are not anywhere in Scripture. Predestination, however, is all over the place. Adoration of Mary is nowhere to be found, but paying attention to the Scriptures is a clear admonition.
Not this old saw, again. That error comes from centuries of brainwashing. To divide up the Bible into chapters & verses does not contribute to the content. If anything, many times it disrupts the flow of the message. And, no Catholic ever wrote a speck of Scripture. The Bible was compiled long before any such thing as a "Catholic" was invented (yes, I do mean invented). Have you noticed the word Catholic does not appear in the Bible? You would think someone, anyone would have put that name in there at least once...but, no.
The term "Catholic" was a brand name ginned up by Rome some 250 years after the Apostles provided the "once and for all" delivery of the Gospel. And, just as there were Judaizers, false teachers, and false prophets...Rome took over where they left off.
Rome may have fooled itself, but the real believers in Jesus, alone, are not buying the pablum. Men and women have been elect from the foundation of the world and it had nothing at all to do with Rome. And Rome cannot prevent them from being rescued...in spite of its trying. You may wish to review real history, ma'am.
The Church has gone through popes like a box of Crackerjax. Unfortunately, each one after Pius XII has been on the wrong side.
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