The pope made the comments in his new feature-length documentary Francesco in which he says, ‘Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.’
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has since praised Pope Francis for what he said, but several Roman Catholic leaders have condemned it. According to the New York Post, Cardinal Raymond Burke said that the pope’s comments should be interpreted as his own personal views, implying that they’re not shared with the rest of the Church. In a statement on his website, the cardinal said:
The context and the occasion of such declarations make them devoid of any magisterial weight. They are rightly interpreted as simple private opinions of the person who made them. These declarations do not bind, in any manner, the consciences of the faithful who are rather obliged to adhere with religious submission to what Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and the ordinary Magisterium of the Church teach on the matter in question. In particular, the following are to be noted. He also dubbed the pope’s comments as ‘contrary to the teaching of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition’ and that they will cause ‘great bewilderment and cause confusion and error among Catholic faithful’.
Bishop Thomas Tobin, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, agreed with Burke saying that he sees the pope’s comments on same-sex unions contradicts the teachings of the church as well. Tobin said in a statement:
The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human rights and civil rights recognized and protected by law. However, the legalization of their civil unions, which seek to simulate holy matrimony, is not admissible.
Other Catholic figures have also publicly condemned the pope’s recent comments.
About The Author
Harrison Okafor
editor
Judith is a believer, a lover of Christ and a Gospel freak person. A passionate gospel blogger and press writer. I work with GospelHitsNaija.net Media, no 1 Gospel music platform.
