Posted on 10/13/2014 10:54:05 AM PDT by SkyPilot
In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer" and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.
Roman Catholic gay rights groups around the world hailed the paper as a breakthrough, but Church conservatives called it a betrayal of traditional family values.
The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly of 200 bishops on the family, said the Church should challenge itself to find "a fraternal space" for homosexuals without compromising Catholic doctrine on family and matrimony.
While the text did not signal any change in the Church's condemnation of homosexual acts or gay marriage, it used less judgmental and more compassionate language than that seen in Vatican statements prior to the 2013 election of Pope Francis.
"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a further space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home," said the document, known by its Latin name "relatio".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
So I “jumped” on you???? Just because there was a civil conversation where opinions differed on interpretation of scripture? Okay then. I was wrong in having said what??? I was trying to quote the scripture in the Bible. Or isn’t that what you go by?
Being unequally yoked and hanging out with sinners, okay explain the difference...because I don’t go to church (even though I was jumped on for having some BS “preacher” on-line.)
Prayers for the Pope and the Bishops.
You are so right.
**The fact that they have even discussed these things should be extremely disturbing to those of true faith and a sign to them that there is something very wrong.**
The Catholic Church has been foremost in standing against same-sex marriage and contraception in families.
It’s hard to understand what is going on here. Pray that nothing changes.
You know what, forget it. I’m going to stay out of religious discussions for now. I have seldom found harmony in fellowship with other Christians and it’s turned me off on the religion thing. I should have known better than to say anything. No hard feelings to anyone.
Contact (FReep) your Bishop! Voice your opinion! (Even if you are non-Catholic!)
http://usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses.cfm
1st Corinthians 6:9-11
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Also the Lord calls us to BELIEVE as well as to REPENTENCE.
You wrote:
“Bible also says in there to not hang around with sinners. To not be a part of the world. Be in it but not part of it.”
That is very dangerously false. And I pointed that out to you.
I was concerned that you were taking your opinions from a legalistic pastor, and so I made a very big deal out of your comment. I’m relieved that this man is not your pastor; I was wrong to assume that he was.
The keys are to believe and repent, repent and believe.
Second it!
Believe and repent, repent and believe!
I never thought I was going to say this today, but I am looking forward to the next Pope, one who plays by the rules set down by God!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3212782/posts
“The Burke/Kasper clash is therefore about much more than the treatment of divorced and remarried Catholics. This is a clash between easy going establishment Catholicism and radical anti-establishment Catholicism. The clash is between two essentially conflicting understandings of the Catholic faith in the world today. One only needs to take a quick look at demographics in a book like John Allen’s The Future Church to realize that Kasperian Catholicism is at the end of its lifespan. European Catholicism of the Kasperian sort is dead and dying. In the present Vatican climate, Burke may seem like yesterday’s man, but his underlying assumptions are the ones that will take the Church into the future.
Before the conclave of 2013, I wrote a series of articles on the cardinals on the lists of papabile. While they come from every corner of the globe, what was impressive about them is that the majority had the foundational assumptions of Burke, not Kasper. Their formation and their present environment is that of being minorities and missionaries. They are used to conflict not compromise, and the idea of a European style established church is completely alien to them. This is why the present debate in the Church must be seen in a much larger context. The current papacy is likely to be relatively short and it is fair to look forward with eyes wide open.
I expect that the next man in white will be more Burkean than Kasperian in his underlying views. He may come from the Philippines, India, Canada, Nigeria or Peru, but he will almost certainly see Catholicism as a powerful force for creative conflict with the world. He will see the Catholic religion as the power for the followers of Jesus Christ not to be conformed to the world but transformed.”
Amen to that also!
She says she is bisexual, so if it is not a sin to be bisexual it is not a sin to be homosexual as long as no sex is practiced? It does not sound like that is what some are saying, are they not saying being a homosexual is sinful even a chaste homosexual and they should not be part of a church?
This women says being gay is not a sin but having sex outside marriage is. What is God saying, when He says homosexuals will not enter into His kingdom? That being a homosexual is sin, rebel against God ......or fornication (sex outside of marriage) is sin?
RE: It’s hard for me to seperate the two. How can you love someone if you hate what they do? Okay so what about truly evil people like serial killers and psychopaths? They have no conscience and there’s nothing lovable about them...
Let’s be honest, not all sins are of the same gravity to people. Of course to God all sins are serious, but to human beings, we view certain sins as more serious than others.
In the USA for instance, someone having sex with another of the same sex who does not flaunt it openly is considered LESS SERIOUS in his sins than someone who is a killer or a psychopath. Many Christians view that gay person as not more serious than a man who visits prostitutes.
So, it’s easier to be friendly to someone who is gay than someone who is a known be-header.
That’s just the way it is.
RE: And we all know, we won’t have them for a friend very long after that...
Not necessarily. There are gays who rationalize their sins and re-interpret the Bible to make the gay lifestyle OK.
But there are also many who STRUGGLE with their sins and who DO acknowledge their weaknesses.
We have to approach them on a case by case basis.
Who is “the Vatican” of which you speak? If a religious is fulfilling their vows, how would anybody know?
I am not condoning homosexuality, nor do I think homosexuals should be priests, sodomy is NOT an accepted practice, and having homosexual tendencies weeds one out of the seminary entrance exam.
Perhaps you are thinking about Episcopalians or Methodists?
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Matthew states Jesus was tempted by satan 3 times in wilderness.
We are the light in the darkness in the world, we should be spending lots of time with the lost (sinners) just like Jesus. We influence them not be influenced by them.
there is no stronger word than ABOMINATION used In the bible- and God repeatedly uses it to describe homosexuality among other sins- God didn’t just suddenly decide “Well, since 2% of the world’s population is now gay, I think I’ll give them a pat on the back and tell them it’s ok now to be gay and it’s no longer to be considered an ABOMINATION- something I detest with my whole being!”
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