Fr. Federico Lombardi speaking at a press conference. Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA.
Posted on 01/07/2014 6:47:49 AM PST by NYer
.- The Vatican's spokesman says some coverage of Pope Francis’ comment about a child of a same-sex couple is “forced” and a “manipulation” of his primary concern about evangelizing in new cultural environments.
On Jan. 3, the Italian Jesuit periodical La Civilta Cattolica published a 14-page account of Pope Francis' Nov. 29 conversation with a group of superiors general from religious orders.
While discussing marginalization, culture, and education as the frontiers of mission, the Pope recalled that in Argentina he met “a very sad little girl who finally confided in her teacher the reason for her state of mind: 'my mother's girlfriend doesn't love me.' The percentage of children studying in schools who have separated parents is very high. The situation in which we live now provides us with new challenges which sometimes are difficult for us to understand.”
“How can we proclaim Christ to these boys and girls? How can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing? We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them.”
Some Italian news agencies, as well as the French news agency AFP, reported on the 14-page account as though Pope Francis had made indicated some opening towards gay marriages or civil unions.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Holy See press officer, said Jan. 6 that the Pope's “point about the educational responsibilities of the Church, which in a sense is fairly obvious, was made on Nov. 29 in entirely general terms, (but) has been placed by various Italian media outlets in the context of the question raised in recent days of recognition of civil unions of homosexual couples.”
“It is completely self-evident,” he said, that the topic was “forced … so much so that in some cases it seems the Pope’s remark is being manipulated. To speak of an ‘openness to gay couples’ is paradoxical, because the Pope’s comment is completely general in nature and because even the small concrete example made by the Pope about (a girl who was sad because her mother's girlfriend doesn’t love her) alludes to the suffering of children.”
The Vatican spokesman emphasized that Pope Francis was addressing the fact that “the situation in which education of children takes place today is very different than in the past, because (these children) live in many difficult family situations, such as parents who are separated, anomalous new unions, sometimes even homosexual unions.”
He continued, saying, “education and the proclamation of the faith of course cannot ignore this reality and must be attentive to the welfare of future generations, affectionately accompanying them in their current context, in order not to provoke negative reactions contrary to openness to the faith.”
One Italian political party has announced its support for civil unions since Pope Francis spoke to the superiors general, and Fr. Lombardi said the Pope had “absolutely not expressed himself on the debate that reopened in Italy only a month later.”
“Those who remember the positions he expressed earlier in Argentina during similar debates know that they were completely different from what some people are now trying surreptitiously to attribute to him.”
In a July 2010 letter to Carmelite nuns of Buenos Aires, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio asked them to pray for the defeat of a gay marriage bill and criticized it in strong language.
“Let’s not be naïve: This is a not simple political struggle, but an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill but a move of the Father of Lies, who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God,” he wrote.
Bears repeating, ping!
I am not getting this, it appears everything the fellow says is miss interpreted , maybe he needs to be quiet for awhile
Worst pope in centuries. Figures, he’s a Jesuit. Benedict XVI is a great Catholic leader, one of the smartest people in my life.
I don't think so.
Particularly in this case: Pope Francis laments this little girl's suffering because of the lovelessness of the lesbian household she's growing up in, and the media says he's therefore supporting gay marriage or something?
When Bergoglio/Francis had shortly before said that gay marriage was a diabolical arrangement?!
He's talking about the suffering of children because of perversion, and he has to keep talking about it.
However, you fight the war with the generals you have, not the generals you wish you had.
I believe Benedict bore the burden of being hated by ninnies who had no idea what he was talking about, but Francis bears the (perhaps greater) burden of being loved for -- all too often --- the same reason.
I too get aggravated by his too-much-talking, but I am willing to bet my right arm up to the shoulder that he is going to make some moves which are very God-pleasing.
Look,our next-worst-pope, if you want to put it that way, Paul VI, gave us "Humanae Vitae." A proof of the action of the Holy Spirit at the very moment when it's needed. Our duty (I am preaching to myself) is to pray, fast, and sacrifice for Francis. The moment will come when we will be breaking out the champagne and hanging big Bergoglio banners from our windows that say "Habemus Papam!"
You'd never guess that so many Catholics were multi-lingual!
I know it gets tired after a while, and it is unfortunate that he seems to have gotten into this mess himself. For some reason, probably because of his informal style and emphasis on evangelism, rather than doctrine/dogma, in English (at least if not perhaps other non-Romance languages) he seems to at least be misinterpreted often. And this is due in large part to the media as well.
He isn’t mis-interpreted in Italy though; I know this because I have Italian friends and my wife is Italian. There, the people love him and don’t regard him as a “radical Pope” or a “progressive Pope”, at all. (I’m talking here about the people, not the media there). Of course there like here the leftist media spins what he says (and again, what he says, or at least the way he says it, is vulnerable to mis-representation).
The point I wish to emphasize though is in countries like Italy (where Romance languages are spoken) he is not regarded as going off the doctrinal reservation. People by and large don’t see him as seeking to change anything within the Church or about it (save maybe the “gay mafia”, and or the entrenched entitlement mentality of some bishops and cardinals).
So I return to my initial statement. It is tiresome to say as well as hear but it appears to be the truth: he is misinterpreted in English. But this seems to be a problem peculiar to our language, by and large, not to anything he actually says in Italian (or Spanish).
All the more reason (especially if one is Catholic) to read what he says completely, for oneself. Do not rely on the media, anywhere, to tell you what he says. Including here. Go to http://www.laciviltacattolica.it/articoli_download/extra/Wake_up_the_world.pdf to read this latest for yourself and you can decide: is the Pope suggesting a “relaxation” or “softer stance” toward “gay marriage”, or is he exhorting concern for children in all types of families, concern that they (children) may not be exposed to the faith in a proper, formative, educational way.
Whether or not this is his genius or serendipity, I appreciate that Francis is forcing people of every religious stripe to think for themselves wrt a multitude of issues, instead of allowing people to depend on him to tell them what to believe, just because he’s the Pope. For whatever reason (genius or incompetence on his part), he is forcing people to come to examine their faith, and ask difficult but important questions like “Why do I believe as I do?”, and “What does the Church really teach on this issue?”
The Holy Spirit has His hand on this situation, of this I have no doubt. And no matter how good or bad Francis turns out to be, the Church will prevail.
The media really are trying to control the message, aren’t they.
Il Papa needs to control his message. Somebody ought to tell him.
Yet he was too much “theological” or theological for me, that is, Pope Benedict XVI Emertius. Pope Francis, despite the old MSM’s efforts to make him look BAD, he is much more “pastorial” which is much more needed right now.
You are correct, sounded better in my head than on the reply.
I was thinking if everything he says is misinterpreted, there needs to be either a clearer statement or better translators or he should think about what he is saying based on what is already being said about him.
It is hard for me to believe he is unaware of what is happening to his statements, he should be cautious.
The restating statements gives him less credibility in his message.
That’s for sure. I much prefer Pope Francis’ clearer, no-buts-about-it statements, such as the one in the tagline.
I’m a convert and grew fond of JPII and Benedict.
I miss them dearly. This Pope connects with me with his humility, but I am struggling with some of his statements.
Praying for Pope Francis and for me to see with clarity, what I am not seeing right now.
I do miss Blessed John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI, great with the Bible-related books such as those on the life of Christ, books that are thick but good reads. Pope Francis I sense wants to be more pastorial or to try to keep things simple but that is me.
Father, the press is going to be ignorant, get it wrong, troll, misrepresent, even flat out lie. Ignore them, route around them and keep on keeping on.
Let’s see how the liberal media can distort this.
“Let’s not be naïve: This is a not simple political struggle, but an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill but a move of the Father of Lies, who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God,”
Or perhaps he isn’t being misinterpreted quite as much as others make him out to be.
Given the frequency, I am beginning to wonder.
And I would like to add that in this instance it does appear that he was referring to divorced/separate couples, not gay couples.
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