129 lines
7.5 KiB
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129 lines
7.5 KiB
HTML
<p>Recently there has been a scandal within the Church over footage
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found in the recent documentary "Francesco" on Pope Francis. News
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outlets everywhere have been exclaiming how this footage shows Pope
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Francis approving of same-sex civil unions.
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<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a><a href="#r2" >[2]</a><a href="#r3" >[3]</a></sup>
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However, it would seem that none of these journalists or newspapers have
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bothered to look up the actual footage, put it into the context of what
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the Pope is talking about, and understand the true meaning of what the
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Church teaches on this issue, which is exactly what Pope Francis is
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trying to express.</p>
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<p>So before getting into the issue at hand, what does the Church teach
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on the subject of civil unions and homosexuality? On civil marriage,
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Pope Leo XIII wrote that "while the civil authority retains in full its
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right to regulate the so-called civil effects, the marriage itself is
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subject to the authority of the Church" and that "We raise our voice and
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totally condemn the so-called civil marriage laws" (<i>Dum Multa</i> §
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2-3). And with regards to homosexuality, the Church holds a nuanced
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position that is neither acceptance of the behaviour, nor a condemnation
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of the person:</p>
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<blockquote>
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<i><p>"Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who
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experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward
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persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms
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through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological
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genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred
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Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave
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depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are
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intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law.
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They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed
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from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no
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circumstances can they be approved.</p>
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<p>"The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual
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tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively
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disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be
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accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of
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unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These
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persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they
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are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the
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difficulties they may encounter from their condition.</p>
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<p>"Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of
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self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support
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of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they
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can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian
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perfection."</p></i>
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<p>- <i>Catechism of the Catholic Church</i> § 2357-2359</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>Knowing the teaching of the Church, which is a matter of immutable
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doctrine, we can now delve into what His Holiness has or hasn't said,
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and whether it contradicts these truths.</p>
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<p>Firstly, not everything from the original interview was put into the
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documentary, part of it - the part where His Holiness repeats Church
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teaching - is conveniently removed.<sup><a href="#r4" >[4]</a></sup>
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Next, it's worth noting the context of what Pope Francis means by saying
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that people with same-sex attraction have a "right to a family". He's
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talking specifically about people who are being kicked out of their
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homes by their parents and family for their attraction. Pope Francis
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is essentially repeating Catholic teaching which is found in paragraph
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2358 of the Catechism, as cited above.</p>
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<p>But what of the so-called "same-sex civil union law"? Well, if you
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speak any Spanish, listen to the words that Pope Francis says in the
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interview, and you'll notice he says: "ley de <i>convivencia</i> civil".
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The key word here is <i>convivencia</i>, which is tricky as it doesn't
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have a perfect translation into English. The most literal translation
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would be "co-living", but His Holiness is not referring to a
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cohabitation law either. The real meaning of it in this context is quite
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simply "getting along". Just like the rest of the interview, he's
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referring to a law that would protect people with same-sex attraction
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from being kicked out of their homes by their parents. Again, what is
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very clearly Church teaching as we see from paragraph 2358 of the
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Catechism.</p>
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<p>So how could it be that the media came to such wild conclusions on
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this issue? There are probably several reasons, such as the need to
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report on something before enough information is available, or that the
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subtitles for the documentary use an inappropriate translation, or the
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media is really trying its hardest to turn Pope Francis into the
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Modernist pope they've always wanted, or simply that Pope Francis has a
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bad reputation on this sort of issue mostly due to bad phrasing.
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Ultimately, all that deserves an article of its own. But it's worth
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noting that this isn't the first time something like this has happened
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to Pope Francis. It's all too common for the media to take sound bites
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of what he says and pass it off with no context. Perhaps the real
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tragedy is that most folks, both outside and inside the Church, will
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only get to hear the perversions of his words told in the media, while
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never hearing his actual message. And this is driving many people away
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from the Church. They're manipulated into believing that Pope Francis is
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some doctrinal revolutionary who has come to modernize the Church, when
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in reality the most radical thing I've seen him question is the death
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penalty - I have heard rumors that he says something about the Just War
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Doctrine, but I have yet to confirm this. Other than this, he has been a
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very orthodox pope.</p>
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<p>So I have two lessons here: one for non-Catholics, and another for
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Catholics. For non-Catholics, don't believe everything you hear from the
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media about the Pope. This has happened several times before, and every
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time it's been a lie. For Catholics, have a little faith. As Catholics
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we believe that this is Christ's Church, and the pope is the Vicar of
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Christ. God would not let someone into such a position in His Church
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that is going to corrupt Her teachings which are necessary for our
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salvation. The Church shall not fall into error. Pray for him, as God
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knows he needs our prayers, pray for the souls of those journalists who
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manipulate his words, and pray for all those who were scandalized by
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this manipulation of what the Holy Father was trying to say.</p>
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<label id="r1" >[1]</label> <a
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href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/world/europe/pope-francis-same-sex-civil-unions.html"
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target="_blank" >
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/world/europe/pope-francis-same-sex-civil-unions.html</a><br />
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<label id="r2" >[2]</label> <a
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href="https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-10-21/el-papa-francisco-defiende-las-uniones-civiles-entre-homosexuales.html"
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target="_blank" >
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https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-10-21/el-papa-francisco-defiende-las-uniones-civiles-entre-homosexuales.html</a><br />
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<label id="r3" >[3]</label> <a
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href="https://www.publico.pt/2020/10/21/mundo/noticia/papa-francisco-defende-unioes-facto-casais-homossexuais-1936150"
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target="_blank" >
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https://www.publico.pt/2020/10/21/mundo/noticia/papa-francisco-defende-unioes-facto-casais-homossexuais-1936150</a><br />
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<label id="r4" >[4]</label> <a
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href="https://nitter.net/Patricio_F99/status/1319124510415650816"
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target="_blank" >
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https://nitter.net/Patricio_F99/status/1319124510415650816</a>
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