Posted on 08/03/2018 9:55:47 PM PDT by unlearner
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, Pro-homosexual dissident 'Catholic' groups see in Pope Francis' ‘changing’ of the Church’s teaching on the death penalty the hope that the Church will one day also change its teaching against homosexuality.
New Ways Ministry called the change in the Catechism proof that "Church teaching can change."
"It's important for Catholic advocates for LGBT equality to take note of this change because for decades Catholic opponents of LGBT equality argued that it is impossible to change church teaching. They often pointed to the fact that condemnations of same-sex relationships were inscribed in the Catechism, and so were not open for discussion or change. Yet, the teaching on the death penalty is in the Catechism, too, and, in fact, to make this change in teaching, it was the text of the Catechism that Francis changed," the group stated on its website.
New Ways Ministry, which works to "promote the acceptance of LGBT people," said that Pope Francis' move will help advance "LGBT equality" in a number of ways.
"First, we now have a clear, explicit contemporary example of church teaching changing, and also a look into how it can be done: with a papal change to the Catechism," it stated.
"Second, we can see that the process that brought about this change has been decades of theological debate and discussion, and not just a papal whim. That means the theological and even ecclesial discussions and debates right now about LGBT people have great potential to shape future changes in church teaching in regard to those topics," it added.
The pro-gay group was not the only one to see the significance of Pope Francis' rewrite of the Catechism.
In a post that appeared yesterday on Twitter, Lexington-based “Fortunate Families” wrote:
The church cannot change its teaching. That is what so many others say about other topics, for example regarding LGBTQ persons. But doctrine develops. Today’s news is a sterling example.
"The idea first floated by [the] Pope on Catechism’s 25th anniversary last fall to signify development of doctrine,” the tweet continued, “rescript issued today sees Francis issue edit of the 1994 official text, now deeming capital punishment ‘inadmissible’-- the new formulation.”
“Development of doctrine”, legitimately used to describe how the Catholic Church refines and expands, but never undermines or rejects, what was taught earlier, has now been interpreted by some to mean the erasure of settled Church teaching.
Critics say Pope Francis attempted to do that yesterday when he promulgated a new teaching concerning the death penalty in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, saying that it was “inadmissible.” The perennial teaching of the Church, based on Scripture and unanimously accepted by the Church Fathers and every pope until Francis, is that legitimate civil authority may impose the death penalty on a malefactor. Although both Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI were strongly opposed to capital punishment--and John Paul’s Catechism strongly circumscribed it--neither pope denied this principle.
Pope Francis’ innovation has already become a club for American liberals to beat conservatives with. Jane Fleming Kleeb, Chair of the Democratic Party in Nebraska, has tweeted “Let's be clear Nebraskans, @GovRicketts is going against the teachings of the church. We can change leaders by voting different on Nov. 6--Democrats are against the death penalty.”
Fortunate Families, founded in 1992 by Mary Ellen and Casey Lopata, the Catholic parents of a same-sex attracted man, is a group of Catholic religious and laypeople who dissent on authentic Church teaching regarding sexuality and marriage. From 2010 until this July Fortunate Families was part of a coalition with Call to Action, the banned Dignity, and the censured New Ways ministry.
Astonishingly, since November 2017 Bishop John Stowe, OFM of Lexington has served as the dissident group’s “ecclesial advisor”. Stowe is one of the five bishops who have endorsed Fr. James Martin’s pro-LGBT book Building a Bridge. The bishop was appointed to the Lexington diocese by Pope Francis in 2015.
Fortunate Families was last in the news when a Lexington Catholic church stretched an LGBT flag across its front lawn. The first executive director of the group, Stan “JR” Zerkowski, is a parishioner at St. Paul’s parish, and told media that he hoped the banner got wide publicity.
“This is a church that is open to all people and I hope this sign gets that across,” he said in the TV report. “I don’t think a Catholic Church has ever had a sign like this before in front of it during Pride Week or any other time. However, in other parts of the country we see this regularly.”
The banner read “LBGTQ+ Catholic /Family, Friends & Allies/all are welcome”, insinuating that at other Catholic churches Catholics who experience same-sex desires or suffer from gender dysphoria are barred from the worship of God.
Former homosexual Joseph Sciambra retweeted the group’s Twitter message, saying “Bishop Stowe’s ‘Fortunate Families’ believe that the [Catechism of the Catholic Church] will also ‘change’ in terms of homosexuality. FF operatives are embedded within several dioceses around the US.”
Sciambra, a survivor of the San Francisco 1990s “gay scene”, is dedicated to helping people with same-sex attractions avoid being trapped in what he says is a dangerous way of life.
Has the word gone out?
Leave this thread?
It must have gone up in smoke of a zotted reply number.
A few have even pined for the return of the Inquisition! Luckily, their temporal power has been diminished bigly.
Do you think they imagine they OWN any and all articles that contain the word "Catholic" on Free Republic???
It did.....
It’s best to post guidelines with more context so that a clearer picture is seen.
I see another poster posted that part of the guidelines with full context.
For everyone:
To see the guidelines for the Religion Forum, click on my name at the bottom of this post.
Quite a few of you need to study these very carefully.
Even if you have been at FR for a long time.
“I just wonder how many Catholics break into Protestant caucuses. There are here now and I for one think it is a fine idea”
I don’t know what you mean by your second sentence.
To address your “wondering” in you first sentence, I don’t have a specific number.
There have been several non-Protestants that have posted in Protestant caucus threads, some more than once.
“More and more I see the Catholic caucus designation being ignored.”
Sometimes it is because the caucus designation doesn’t apply so non-Catholics will post on the threads to let the OP know.
If posting on a caucus by a non member is done knowingly I will deal with it properly. If it is just a mistake, which does happen, and they leave the caucus when it is pointed out to them that they have erred, I will not have to do anything.
The proper way to address a wrongfully placed caucus designation is to send me a FR mail instead of breaking into the caucus.
Click on my name at the bottom of this reply and read the guidelines.
“...some people lurk on the Catholic caucuses hoping and praying for an “in” so the insults can begin”
From my observations that is not what they do.
It appears rather that they just want to join the discussion.
Your statement actually is mindreading with a broad brush, and just your opinion.
You might want to, in the future, send concerns such as these to me through private message.
It’s up to you.
My second sentence was that Protestant caucuses were a fine thing. I thought that’s what I wrote and it is what I meant.
“His/Her first post was to me, informing me of his/her intentions to break a caucus.”
Read the post again and do NOT continue to misrepresent what another poster posts.
No caucus was broken.
Thanks. It wasn’t clear the way you wrote it.
I would think a person should be able to quote themselves accurately; but I error in many of my judgments.
Perhaps a paraphrase is as good as the original.
There are here now and I for one think it is a fine idea.
I’m wondering how a person can think that a Protestant caucus is a fine thing; when their replies here show that they do not think that Protestants themselves are a fine thing.
Heh...
In the real world people say things like that because they like you...They really really like you!
(Stolen from Diaper Boy, Stuart Smalley)
You might want to pay attention to this one.
Can. 1373 A person who publicly incites among subjects animosities or hatred against the Apostolic See or an ordinary because of some act of power or ecclesiastical ministry or provokes subjects to disobey them is to be punished by an interdict or other just penalties.
ebb tide, have the Leadership of the Catholic Church called you out for doing this?
“Who am I to judge?” -—Pope Francis
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