(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . After a rollicking ride, Pope Francis finally kicks open the doors of the church to same-sex couples [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-10 Former boss of the Jesuit Catholic order in Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has been taking Roman Catholics worldwide on an extraordinary journey. Now Pope Francis, the head of the world’s largest Christian denomination has been striving to balance the powerful opposing forces on the issue of same-sex unions. Last week he advanced the cause of those wanting gay couples treated the same as straights, bringing the vast global Catholic family into line with most other major Christian denominations. This is likely to hasten the end of the persecution of gay couples and individuals – often violent, sometimes deadly – which has bedeviled majority Catholic countries in Africa and elsewhere. The church can no longer “reject and exclude” Pope Francis went out of his way last week to press this issue forward by releasing previously private answers to questions on homosexuality raised by five conservative cardinals. He chose to do so just before the big global synod which started last Wednesday and which is likely to debate the topic. The cardinals – the highest-ranking Catholic leaders in each country – wanted Pope Francis to affirm what they see as absolute truth – that all same-sex unions are sinful and therefore prohibited. He declined, saying: ‘The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude.’ He added that ‘pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage. Because when one seeks a blessing, one is expressing a plea to God for help.’ In other words, okay, you can keep the word “marriage” for man-woman unions. But we can no longer claim that is the only relationship acceptable to God. The journey so far Pope Francis gave hope to progressives at the outset of his papacy when he said in 2013 that "if a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" He went further in 2016 affirming that gay people "should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally ... the Church should apologise to a gay person whom it has offended." In 2018, the Pope assured a gay Chilean man in a private conversation that God had given him his same-sex orientation, that he was cool with that, and so was God. This was the clearest statement by any leading Catholic ever, so naturally made headlines in Russia, France, Germany, China, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Slovakia, the USA and elsewhere. By this time, many Catholic dioceses in Europe were already blessing same-sex unions. Austrian theologian Ewald Volgger published in May 2020 the book ‘The benediction of same sex partnerships’ with liturgies for same-sex celebrations. All these hopeful developments – from the progressive perspective – were dashed in March 2021 when the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared bluntly that the church could never bless gay unions because ‘God cannot bless sin.’ This dubium stated explicitly that: ‘it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships or partnerships, even stable ones, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage, as is the case with unions between persons of the same sex.’ That was intended to end the matter, but didn’t. The grassroots Parish Priests Initiative across Western Europe continued to defy the Vatican declaration. The group said, ‘We members of the Parish Priests Initiative are deeply appalled by the new Roman decree that seeks to prohibit the blessing of same-sex loving couples. This is a relapse into times that we had hoped to have overcome with Pope Francis.’ The pope has now effectively reversed that 2021 decree. Last week’s decision is unlikely to be overturned. His statement is clear, considered and not just an impromptu comment to a troubled pilgrim. Importantly, it is consistent with the clear conclusion reached by all the sciences in recent decades that same-sex orientation is just as healthy, natural and God-given as heterosexual orientation. This revelation, along with better scriptural interpretation and historical research, underpins the theological shift. Reactions far and wide American Roman Catholic historian Kevin Elphick said, ‘I am genuinely heartened by the recent words of Pope Francis’. Dr Elphick told IA, ‘I hope his stated rationale for such blessings helps to reframe the concerns expressed by his critics. The Church already has a clear history of blessing same-sex, paired partners which includes invoking a litany of paired saints as part of the recorded blessing.’ Executive director of Catholic LGBTQ+ advocacy group New Ways Ministry, Francis DeBernardo, said that while the response was not a ‘full-fledged, ringing endorsement’ of such blessings, it was welcome. The pope's words, he said, implied ‘that the church does indeed recognise that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God’. * This is an edited version of an article published earlier today in Independent Australia, available in full for free here: https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/pope-francis-kicks-open-the-church-door-to-gay-couples--at-last,17971 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/10/2198483/-After-a-rollicking-ride-Pope-Francis-finally-kicks-open-the-doors-of-the-church-to-same-sex-couples?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/