Posted on 03/15/2021 5:06:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Elton John has criticized the Catholic Church for its staunch stance against blessing homosexual marriages, while simultaneously profiting off of his biopic.
“How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they 'are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in Rocketman - a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David?? #hypocrisy,” the iconic musician tweeted.
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The Church recently confirmed its long held stance against same-sex unions, calling them a "choice” that involves “sexual activity outside of marriage.” As such, the Vatican views the unions as sinful, adding that God “does not and cannot bless sin.”
The statement has drawn the ire of John, one of the most vocal members of the LGBTQ community.
In his tweet, Sir Elton displayed a screenshot to a 2019 report from the Daily Beast which detailed some of the Vatican’s financial investments. Among them, $4.5 million towards the production of two films: Men in Black: International and Rocketman.
The John biopic took in nearly $200 million at the box office, earning Golden Globes and an Academy Award along the way. The R rated picture featured scenes of gay sex, which would seemingly be at odds with the Church’s conservative views.
“While investing in mainstream entertainment is hardly sinful, the great contradiction is that the Catholic Church preaches to the devout that homosexuality is a sin,” the Daily Beast report noted.
Further angering - and complicating - matters is the fact that the Vatican seemed to be slowly progressing in the stance on same-sex relationships. Last October, Pope Francis lent his support to civil unions, stating, "Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They're children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it.”
Church officials later declared that the Pope had been taken out of context. While the latest statement on the matter did not come from Pope Francis himself, the pontiff did approve the message.
I was going to say how much I enjoy getting lectured on faith by someone who probably hasn’t stepped foot in a church in decades.
But, I broke longstanding FReeper tradition and actually read the article.
If the “church” invested in a movie about a nice guy and extremely talented poofter, then Elton John makes a good point.
I left the catholic system when I became an evangelical Christian 40 or so years ago so I don’t have a dog in the fight.
But, what a bunch of hypocrites.
I’m sure Elton has been slammed himself on more than a few occasions.
I wonder what maganer this investment was made. It was probably part of a large syndication? I am doubting someone was actively picking certain movies to invest in?
I wonder why he cares about what tge vhurch says
If a multi million dollar investment has no oversight then there’s a bigger problem.
He was..He went to the marriage of Rush Limbaugh....
Saw him perform twice. Sir Elton is alive and well. We’re all better off he’s around to show off his talents. I’m sure Rush would agree if he was here.
How about the hypocrisy of him marrying a woman, when he knew he was a homosexual? If he is so proud of being a homosexual, why did he marry a woman?
Peruse comments later.
The deal would be interesting to know. Hollywood is filled with deals that screw over their investors with no profits because of accounting procedures.
$200 million sounds like a box office failure.
Why would they invest in anything coming out of Hollywood to begin with? And just those 2 films? Any investment would go to filming depravity since that is Hollywood’s specialty. ‘biopic’ or not.
So he took their money and expected they should change their beliefs as a result? It’s not like the Catholic Church’s stance has changed. If they are so repugnant he shouldn’t have taken their money. Who’s the hypocrite?
Even more so..he was able to perform as a heterosexual with his wife. Proving that homosexual acts are choices, like all sexual acts. We chose to engage in them & can chose not too.
I will say, I never saw the movie but am a fan of his music. Seen him perform a few times over the decades; at least once in late 1980s at the Hollywood Bowl and last at Caesar’s in Vegas a few years ago in the Celine Dion theater. Not sure he had a lot of hits in those intervening decades.
Elton John, as a british noble, is under the purview of The Church of England. Is he showing public intolerance for an alternate religion? Has he ever blasted Islam for also refusing to bless homosexual ‘marriages’? Or Buddhism? Or Judaism? So he’s selective in his outrage, making him a hypocrite who should have reserved his comments rather than look a fool.
I pray for Elton John. He is an exceedingly talented man whose eyes need to be opened.
We all are wretched, saved only by grace.
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