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."
Well Francis will fit in perfectly in regards to his conformance to the mind set of his predecessors.
Who is he to judge? He is supposed to be the pope and a leader of Christ's Church on earth and a guiding light in respect to faith and morals. Homosexuality is a moral issue. It is a sin. Without forgiveness and amendment of one's life heaven's gates are barred, but Hell is open for business.
The Catholic Church at one time was a rock that stood as firm as St. Peter and was looked to by other Christians for some guidance. No more. It has joined the gaggle of other lukewarm or phony, watered down dogmas. In fact, subsequent to Vatican II an entirely new religion was formed.
As far as homosexuals slinking about the Vatican, I feel certain there are as I'm certain that America's current evil regime is full of them.
wimp
The Pope may not have the power to judge but he does have the power to bless.
And God will not want him blessing muff divers and butt humpers.
big time fail!
The reporters were having a field day and picking and choosing what they said and how they said it to make Francis seem as liberal as possible. He’s right about the sin being forgiven and forgotten. He is not the judge. He represents Christ and the Church but Christ is the judge.
The real threat is the Masonic lobby
Or rather, gay members of the Masonic lobby.
This is not a “church.” It is a Trojan horse. It has always been.
The article says so clearly 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 -- so hate the sin but not the sinner.
We hate homosexuality and the gay mafia but sympathize with those sinners.
What's wrong with what the Pope said in this context ". If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?”" - nothing?
Don't stick to just the headline... the MSM blurbs are nonsensical
Judge no, remove/excommunicate if the practice openly, yes...
sorry but God would WANT him to bless these mds and bhs that they go and sin no more
If someone has latent homosexual tendencies but does not succumb to it, they should be supported by the Christian community. if someone has a tendency to stray from the bounds of marriage, but does not act on this, they should be supported
Hate the sin,not the sinner.
Bless those who "search for the Lord" -- remember that that would mean giving up the sin.
FR used to be a good place to dismantle media spin and propaganda. It’s sad to see it, instead, being swallowed - hook, line and sinker.
I am an evangelical “fightin’” fundie, but also God has showed me how Christian faith exists in many different segments of nominal Christendom. The bothersome thing to me here would be for this leader of the Roman Catholic segment of Christendom to use the now ubiquitous word “gay” — if he did that. That word’s the devil’s sugarcoat on a life centered on the celebration of iniquity and it’s not JUST buggery, it’s a whole complex of hate that moves the people involved to such vicious things and to call them love. Language IS leverage. It’s not an unforgiveable sin, but it’s something I hope he watches in the future (for the sake of Christendom).
I stand corrected.
The Church is as fortunate as our pitiful nation!
-Now there will be NO IRS audits of Roman Catholic Churches in America.
-Now Catholic schools will not have to hand out condoms to their students.
-Now Catholic hospitals will not have to provide birth control and abortion services.
-Obama will drop the Order he issued to them to start providing birth control and abortions.
-The IRS will now DROP the requirement that the Roman Catholic Church Pro-Life groups clear their prayers with the IRS, before praying them, like they did to that PL group in Iowa.
The pope’s statements are a major, 90 degree left turn from the previous positions of the previous popes following Pius XII, who were all lukewarm on most of the major tenets of the Church, but stood firm on abortion and sodomy.
It’s amazing to me how some feeble non-believers think that the mind of god can shift so strongly and swiftly from one pope to the next. These cafeteria Catholics believe that Jesus Christ should be brought into the 21st century and are too stupid to believe that our Savior does not change and he doesn’t wear Nikes, nor does he wear a loose baseball cap backwards!
This pope is a true modernist with deep secular leanings and stands as proof that the Church will not change until the second coming. There are many churchmen that will not make it past the Pearly Gates.
Francis is the antithesis of what the leader who sits on the throne of Peter should be.
Consider the abysmal track record of the MSM when reporting on anything to do with Christianity.
I would wait until an actual transit comes out before passing judgment.
Why doesn’t he just shut up about it? He is catering as much as the phony in the White Hut.
True enough Cronos. The problem seems to be terminology. The world may say “gay.” Christendom shouldn’t.
Yes...just another false teacher. We need to follow our own light from God..not people. copingstrategiescd.org has that pathway!
Jesus Christ in Matthew said to not judge with outward appearances, but to “judge with righteous judgment.”
And thus, we are to judge things by the Word of God (the Bible, the scriptures). Paul the Apostle echoed these statements when he said that we are to test all things by scripture.
There are no scriptures that condone homosexuality...
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