In a speech yesterday in the Philippines, Pope Francis sent another mixed message about same-sex marriage, reports Hayley Miller on the HRC blog.
He hinted at the issue of same-sex marriage, stating, “The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life.”
The Catholic Herald also reported that the Pope also admitted that he hoped society was not “tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family”.
In the past two years, Pope Francis has indicated an attitudinal shift towards LGBT Catholics and their families.
Pope Francis made headlines in 2013 whenhe commented on gay priests. In an interview in December 2014, when asked about families with “homosexual” children, the Pope asserted that Catholics “have to find a way to help that father or that mother to stand by their son or daughter.”
“I hope Pope Francis places a wish for prayer under his statue of St Thomas and let his dreams and guidance clear his mind so he can hear God’s message of full acceptance”, said Lisbeth Melendez Rivera, Director of Latina/o & Catholic Initiatives for the Human Rights Campaign. “St Thomas was a wise man, a man who broke with convention and opened the doors for Jesus to come into this world, God in the flesh. I hope Pope Francis can be that man today and open the doors of acceptance to all the children of God, LGBT, divorced and all the rest.”
Additionally, the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops stated in a document in October that LGBT people have “gifts and talents to offer the Christian community,” and, for the first time, referred to LGBT couples as “partners” instead of sinners.
HRC hopes that one day religious leaders, including the Pope, will fully support an environment where nobody is forced to choose between who they are, whom they love and what they believe.
