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 ...
Anybody that takes at face value anything the MSM reports about anything having to do with Christianity deserves to be stupid.
No, and we shouldn't be, any more than pedophiles. etc.
Thanks, Vatican, but I'll stick with my Latin Mass and pre- Vatican II Catholicism.
But if Catholicism were still Catholic such a document would never be proffered within the organization, period.
With RC INC its all about the revenue stream. A few bishops have the idea that a specific demographic has above average disposable income. The rationale is welcome them and their money. RC INC is the oldest most profitable multinational corporation on the planet
Yet the Synod Of Bishops would never have given voice to such a concern prior to Pope Francis.
Does God accept you as a sinner, or do you have to approach him in perfection?
I think the message is that everyone needs to get right with God. How can the Church take people where they are, and encourage them to conform their lives to God?
Clearly, the Church is doing something wrong, as we witness the rise in cohabitation, divorce, and all things homosexual.
So, how should the Church respond? How can it do a better job of teaching the Gospel? How can imitate the model of Christ? He ate with the tax collectors, and showed mercy to the prostitute. He offered the bread of life to Samaritan woman who had 5 husbands.
How can we, as members of the Church, follow those examples? Jesus didn’t water down his teachings for those people. He didn’t “accept” them continuing their sin. Rather, he opened Himself to them, encouraged them with love, and opened their hearts to His law.
“Such a document”? We don’t even know what it says— only a small quote of which it is impossible to view the context. And the little we have is a series of questions, not any kind of statement, let alone a definitive one. What’s wrong with waiting for the outcome of this thing and see what is ACTUALLY decided before jumping to wild unfounded conclusions?
I have been on the fence with Pope from the start and figured he was either going to be very right or very wrong.
I’m leaning to the very wrong side of the spectrum based on this Synod.
“Gifts and qualities” = money in the collection plate?
Amen!! However, they have to feel like they are loved, and their inherent human dignity is valued, before they will even get close to the door of the Church, much less a confessional.
We have to continue to show love and compassion to all people, and model the behavior of how repentant sinners can enjoy the love and endless mercy of God.
Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more. Some of the most beautiful words ever spoken. Fortunately, I get to hear them quite a bit (as they are spoken to me).
The “Church” needs to get its own house in order.
Replace “Homosexuals” with “sinners.” Does your statement still work?
Homosexual sin, as well as all sin, is repellant. However, God in His infinite Mercy can forgive any sin. If we don’t believe that, we have lost hope.
God’s Church is open to all people, in all stages of their lives, and in all states of sin. He wishes us to come close to Him, receive His love, and change our lives. As imperfect beings, we will always sin, and thus always need His mercy.
This has been the teaching of the Church, as instituted by Christ himself. No amount of Latin, or any other trapping will change that. It is admirable to admire the beauty of the Tridentine Mass. It is good to show proper reverence, recognizing the holy and mystical events. Ultimately, if you leave your heart in church and not carry out the teachings of Jesus, then your time there has been wasted.
Love one another as I have loved you.
When I was engulfed in a very bad sin some time ago,I would have avoided much objective damage and grief if I had been told by SOMEONE I TRUSTED that I was going down the wrong road.
Being told: important.
By someone I trusted: important.
Gays are about 2.5% of the population. Out of that, about 1 out of 5 will go to church. So it amazes me how many churches will bend over backward compromising principles to cater to this tiny percentage of their possible population.
Again, does a person or group of persons (the Church) need to be perfect before they approach God?
Are their people who are doing harm to Church by their actions and position? Sure, but it is populated by a large number of sinners.
What? Whoever wrote that is discounting what God says about sin, all sin. Homosexuality is an "abomination" according to God Himself.
Good point. We are only as sick as the secrets that we keep. We have all “been there.” All of us have sinned and fallen short of His glory. The point is not to stay there, come back to Christ, and He forgives us and tells us to repent.
Yes, we are all sinners. That is why Christ died for us. But the Bible clearly tells us that idolaters, drunkards, the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slanderers, liars, will not inherent the Kingdom of God. If the Catholic Church starts opening the door to “accepting” certain sinful acts, then that is clearly open rebellion against God, and He will not stand for it. The key is to repent, as Christ said. No child of Christ would say, “Well, I am Christian, but a current whore monger and thief. I can keep on doing it, because we have a lot of pull with the Vatican.” We must turn away, turn around, and stop sinning.
On the other hand, homosexuality as an act or a pattern of conduct is a sin... in fact, an abomination. Just as is any act of injustice:
Deuteronomy 25:16
For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.
Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
Haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.
I think we don't realize how desperately wicked these things really are. Those last two, for example, are --- I say this sorrowfully -- fairly common among people, even here at FR, who don't think of themselves as abominations.
Gifts like AIDS?
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