Pope Says He Won't Judge Gay Priests

philly.com ^ | 7/29/13 | Nicole Winfield

[SoFloFreeper]

Pope Francis reached out to gays on Monday, saying he wouldn't judge priests for their sexual orientation in a remarkably open and wide-ranging news conference as he returned from his first foreign trip...

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Francis asked.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis was much more conciliatory, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.

Francis' remarks came Monday during a plane journey back to the Vatican from his first foreign trip in Brazil.

He was funny and candid during a news conference that lasted almost an hour and a half. He didn't dodge a single question, even thanking the journalist who raised allegations reported by an Italian newsmagazine that one of his trusted monsignors was involved in a scandalous gay tryst.

[cll]

That’s not the way it is being reported in the Spanish language media. The way it is being reported is that he was ambushed with a question about gays in general, not gay priests, and simply replied that if a gay person is a someone of faith, who is he to judge. That’s it.

[Longbow1969]

Sounds to me like Francis has become rather laissez-faire about homo priests.

Francis is also an economic leftist.

At some point conservative Catholics are going to have to admit that this pope is basically a flaming liberal.

He's a South American Jesuit, those people have spelled bad news for a very long time. John Paul II spent a great deal of time trying to reign them in. Now one is actually Pope.

[LibFreeUSA]

"Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord? You can't marginalize these people."

[Brian Kopp DPM]

I seriously doubt the Pope was speaking English. Therefore this is likely a translation of his original words. And I seriously doubt he used the word gay in whatever language he was speaking.

Folks need to realize that any media report that presents the Holy Father as saying something controversial is probably propaganda, not journalism.

[fwdude]

Whatever was meant by these comments by Francis, it will be seized by the sexual anarchists and run with to the goal line. You cannot make statements with even a hint of ambiguity on this subject - ever. Homosexual behavior must be condemned, from the first of your statement to the last. No conciliation is possible with this evil.

[stanne]

That is simply false and you cannot and will not back it up

[fwdude]

I seriously doubt the Pope was speaking English. Therefore this is likely a translation of his original words.

I'll grant you this possibility. Going forward we should get clarification on his statements. But I'm not optimistic.

[Alex Murphy]

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Francis asked.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis was much more conciliatory, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.

Francis' remarks came Monday during a plane journey back to the Vatican from his first foreign trip in Brazil.

I'm not going to assume anything.

[GodBlessUSA]

As it is written,... allegation had nothing to do with abuse of children. That was added in my last post from Daily Mail. It said a tryst from a decade ago. I take that to mean a consenting adult.

In honesty, I don't know full details either, since the media ran it this way. Waiting for facts of what Pope actually said and what it was pertaining to.

[w1andsodidwe]

Well if you are celibate “What difference does it make”?

[Dr. Thorne]

And so it begins. On March 3, I predicted the following:

‘Church changing big time,’ says Cardinal Dolan
Sunday, March 03, 2013 12:40:31 PM · 11 of 41
Dr. Thorne to NYer

The next Pope will be the Catholic Obama. He will:

- claim he is all things to all people
- be seen as a great uniter
- be seen as a necessary change agent
- elicit the kind of worship seen among Obama adorers.

He will have a worldwide honeymoon of six months media adoration after which he will begin his real work of turning Catholicism into the religious equivalent of Progressivism. Then, he will:

- soften the church's stance on abortion (Not yet)
- embrace homosexual marriage (This is the beginning)
- endorse the redistribution of wealth (His constant trumpeting of concern for the poor is setting the stage for this)
- decry all military action (Coming Soon!)
- loudly proclaim ecumenism as the road to world peace. (This is the Catholic solution to all the world's ills)

He will be a lamb who speaks like a dragon.

[fwdude]

That is simply false and you cannot and will not back it up

Of course it's true, you just don't have the intellectual honestly to face it.

First, is salvation only possible through the Catholic Church? If you say "no," then you run up against Catholic teaching through the millenia. If you say "yes," then you contradict current teaching.

[MEGoody]

And the Pope cannot change what the Church teaches.

Um, I think he can if he is speaking excathedra or whatever the right word is. I do know the Pope can make changes when speaking on matters of faith and morals from his position as Peter's successor as leader of the church.

[MEGoody]

How can a man that has taken a vow of chastity even HAVE a sexual orientation?

Just because one has taken a vow of chastity does not mean that individual ceases to feel attraction. It just means that person has promised not to act on it.

[steve86]

“If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?” the pope said.

should be integrated into society

he reaffirmed Church teaching that homosexual acts are a sin

I still am made extremely uncomfortable by these statements. It seems as though he is talking out of both sides of his mouth. His position seems way too accommodating: Like, we know what you're doing is wrong but we'll kind of overlook the sin part for now 'cuz we so badly want you in our pews and our social gatherings. Would he say this to pedophiles, also? Abortionists? Who am I to judge these people's hearts? /s The truth is these people are emissaries of Satan and you can't make deals with the devil or invite him for an informal get-together without serious consequences. Any movement toward them indicates acceptance and advances their agenda. The only correct Catholic position is to proscribe the sinful acts absolutely and then talk assimilation.

I'm teetering on the sedevacantist fence right now, as usual (for the last 50 years).

[Coldwater Creek]

Clay feet comes to mind for me.

[RummyChick]

Correct, that particular Priest has no child molesting accusations that I am aware of..granted I don’t know all the accusations

But the generic principle applies..we investigated according to Canon Law and nothing is wrong...which is what was used to hide Child Molesters for decades..that ..and moving them from parish to parish

[Coldwater Creek]

Got to remember that he is infallible.

[stanne]

No

And he certainly cannot change teaching on homosexuality and not on a plane in the middle of the night talking to USA Today or whatever paper anticatholic freepers will take as bible truth in this case

It would help if we could just stick with the subject her

[Dr. Thorne]

“If a person is gay a Sodomite and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?” the pope said.

There. Fixed it.