Posted by It seems that the interwebs are all a twitter over Pope Francis’ remarks regarding the Gays.
Addressing the issue of the gay lobby, Pope Francis said it was important to “distinguish between a person who is gay and someone who makes a gay lobby,” he said. “A gay lobby isn’t good.”
“A gay person who is seeking God, who is of good will — well, who am I to judge him?” the pope said. “The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says one must not marginalize these persons, they must be integrated into society. The problem isn’t this (homosexual) orientation — we must be like brothers and sisters. The problem is something else, the problem is lobbying either for this orientation or a political lobby or a Masonic lobby.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Pope Francis made this remark but it’s welcome nonetheless. Although one would not expect the RC Church to change its overall stance on homosexuality overnight, a change in tone and emphasizing everyone’s basic humanity and dignity, regardless of orientation, is a good one.
Speaking on NBC’s Today show this morning, NYC Cardinal Timothy Dolan emphasized the point:
“Homosexual people deserve love respect and dignity, while homosexual acts are immoral,” Dolan said.
“The church’s teaching, which is based on the Bible and God’s revelation, is that sexual love is reserved only between a man and woman in the life-long, life-giving relationship of marriage and any relations outside of that, hetero or homo, would be less than God’s intention,” he said. “That hasn’t changed.”
Would that so many homophobes could at least make room in their hearts for this stance. It ain’t perfect but it’s better than blind hatred.
