Marisa Martin, writing for WND.com (formerly the apparently less gravitas-sounding World Net Daily), is wondering if the liberal wing of the Roman Catholic church, and with it, a large swatch of people who identify with the LGBT community, have found in the newest pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio – aka Pope Francis – an icon that is quickly taking on the status of something resembling a superhero.
Martin writes, “Italian artist Mauro Pallotta surprised Vatican visitors with images of the pontiff as a manly, airborne superhero last January hovering at low altitude just outside the walls of the Vatican. Pallotto, a.k.a. “MauPal,” claims his inspiration came while simultaneously listening to the pope and reading a Superman comic. Progressives and liberals in the Catholic Church fervently hope Francis is of their tribe or will at least promote their interests. He hasn’t disappointed them yet.”
And while Martin goes on to disparage this idea, the fact remains that Pope Francis has made statements that have encouraged thousands, perhaps millions of LGBT Catholics, who, after the long, dark winters of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI, may just start believing again in someone who doesn’t view the LGBT community as a thing to be caged, cornered and observed but certainly not fed (spiritually speaking) and certainly not attended to with love and compassion.
“Recently the pope beefed up inclusivity demands by pondering if the Church is ‘capable of accepting and valuing’ homosexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on family. Since it is glaringly obvious that that doctrine would have to be stretched to “infinite tolerance” to accomplish that, many are pondering Francis’ words. The drift away from tradition is so clear that openly homosexual artists like Elton John are holding praise-a-thons for the tolerance and compassion of the 266th pontiff,” writes Martin.
But the fact is this is no normal Pope and that has many worried, no more so than the “journalists” at WMD whose mission statement, according to their Web site, is: “WND is an independent news company dedicated to uncompromising journalism, seeking truth and justice and revitalizing the role of the free press as a guardian of liberty. We remain faithful to the traditional and central role of a free press in a free society – as a light exposing wrongdoing, corruption and abuse of power.”
Their truth, mind you.
One of Pope Francis’ most famous statements, uttered in October, 2013 was when he was asked about gay priests serving in the Church. His response – “Who am I to judge?” – set off a firestorm among believers and non-believers alike and raised the possibility that Roman Catholics were entering a new, less judgmental, more enlightened phase of their history.
But not Martin. “Bringing new life to the words ‘caped crusader,’ Francis also stirs all the controversies the term historically carries. This time, however, the pope appears to stand against policies of his predecessors and is already challenging traditional church doctrine. Homosexual accommodation is the big beached whale liberal church members are positioning in the best light, regardless of claims. Once dead in the water thanks to John Paul II and Benedict, it’s the pivotal target in their crosshairs now. Cryptic remarks by Francis on homosexuality and its place in the Church revived the debate. A wake of perplexed members was left to decipher exactly what his holiness means by these offhand remarks. Francis said he wants a “more merciful and less rigid Church,” although Catholic catechism previously stated homosexual folks are “accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity.”
If Martin would stop salivating through her own condescension, she might want to go back and read that WMD mission statement. We’re pretty sure you don’t need super powers to read it.
