Tag Archives: Pope Francis

Pope Francis reboots the John Paul II institute on marriage and family

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Pope Francis on Tuesday decided to reboot one of the signature institutions of the St. Pope John Paul II era in Catholicism, the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. From now on it will be a theological institute, with the mandate of exploring the “lights and shadows” of family life with “realism” and “love,” while also staying faithful to the Church’s teaching.

Pope Francis talks to Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life and Grand Chancellor of the St John Paul Pontifical Institute for Studies of Marriage and Family

ROME – Pope Francis on Tuesday decided to upgrade an institute for studies on marriage and family named for St. John Paul II and established by the Polish pope in 1981, replacing it with a pontifical theological institute designed to explore the “lights and shadows” of family life with “realism” and “love,” while also staying faithful to the Church’s teaching.

With a legal document known as a motu proprio published on Tuesday, the Vatican announced that the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family will now be replaced by the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences.

More at: Crux 

Pope: Church isn’t a customs post, its doors are open

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Pope Francis flew to a rain-soaked Medellin on Saturday to console orphans, the poor and sick — and to demand priests and ordinary Colombians look beyond rigid church doctrine to care for sinners and welcome them in.

“My brothers, the church is not a customs post,” Francis said. “It wants its doors to be open.”

More at: Telegram.com

Does Pope Francis Support Civil Unions? | Queering the Church

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At Bondings 2.0, Frank DeBenardo makes an intriguing claim about Pope Francis – that he has made ” a declarative endorsement of civil unions for same-sex couples”. He bases this on an extract from a conversation between the pope and a French sociologist, one of a series of 12 which will soon be published in book form.Extracts from these conversations, including the one referring to civil unions, have been published at Crux.

DeBenardo’s response at Bondings 2.0 is to read this as an endorsement of civil unions:

What’s new here, however, is his declarative endorsement of civil unions for same-sex couples. Although many church leaders have suggested supporting such an arrangement in recent years, Pope Francis has never, as pontiff, stated his endorsement of civil unions so flatly.

Is this really a ” declarative endorsement of civil unions for same-sex couples”? I’d love to think so, but I’m not convinced.

Full report: Queering the Church

Pope Francis Says He Supports Civil Unions for Lesbian and Gay Couples – Bondings 2.0

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A new book, Pope Francis has spoken out on a variety of topics from his personal development to many issues facing church and state.   Not surprisingly, LGBT topics were mentioned, and not surprisingly, the pope’s statements are a mixed bag.

The book, entitled Politics and Society, is a series of 12 conversations between the pope and Dominique Wolton, a French sociologist.   Crux carried a string of excerpts from the book on his visits to a psychoanalyst, the role of the laity, colonial exploitation, and, of course, same-gender marriage and gender identity.   On the last topic, the excerpt reads:


Pope Francis

“Marriage between people of the same sex? ‘Marriage’ is a historical word. Always in humanity, and not only within the Church, it’s between a man and a woman… we cannot change that. This is the nature of things. This is how they are. Let’s call them ‘civil unions.’ Lets not play with the truth. It’s true that behind it there is a gender ideology. In books also, children are learning that they can choose their own sex. Why is sex, being a woman or a man, a choice and not a fact of nature? This favors this mistake. But let’s say things as they are: Marriage is between a man and a woman. This is the precise term. Lets call unions between the same sex ‘civil unions’.”

Full report:  Bondings 2.0

Pope Francis: I’m saddened by ‘perfect’ Catholics who despise others | America Magazine

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God did not choose perfect people to form his church, but rather sinners who have experienced his love and forgiveness, Pope Francis said.
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The Gospel of Luke’s account of Jesus forgiving the sinful woman shows how his actions went against the general mentality of his time, a way of thinking that saw a “clear separation” between the pure and impure, the pope said Aug. 9 during his weekly general audience.

“There were some scribes, those who believed they were perfect,” the pope said. “And I think about so many Catholics who think they are perfect and scorn others. This is sad.”

Read more:  America Magazine

Pope Congratulates, Blesses Gay Couple on the Baptism of Their Adopted Children – Bondings 2.0

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Pope Francis, through an aide, has sent his congratulations and apostolic blessing to a legally married Brazilian gay couple on the occasion of the baptism of their three adopted children.

According to Business Monkey News (the only immediately available English language news story), Toni Reis and David Harrad received a letter from Monsignor Paolo Borgia, advisor to the Secretary of State Vatican, which read in part:

“Pope Francisco wishes you congratulations, calling for his family abundance of divine graces, to live constantly and faithfully the condition of Christians.”

Read more:  Bondings 2.0

Pope paints picture of Sweden that is at odds with Trump’s | Religion News Service

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VATICAN CITY (RNS)

In an interview with a magazine that supports the homeless, Pope Francis suggested wealthy nations are partly to blame for the migrant crisis and urged Europeans and others to stand “in the shoes” of those arriving at their borders.  

“Those who arrive in Europe are escaping war and famine. We are in some way responsible because we exploit their land but we don’t make any kind of investment for which they can benefit,” the pope said.

“They have the right to emigrate and the right to be welcomed and helped.”

Also in the interview with the Catholic-backed monthly Scarp de Tenis — which means “sneakers” — the pope specifically praised Sweden for welcoming and integrating foreigners.

Source: Religion News Service

Pope endorsement softens stance on divorced Catholics

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Pope Francis in St Peter’s square. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty

Pope Francis has issued a remarkable endorsement of major changes in the way priests approach Catholics who are divorced and remarried, in a move that could open the door to some of them receiving communion.

The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Francis sent a letter to bishops inArgentina on 5 September in which he praised a document they had written that said priests could – in some cases – offer the “help of sacraments” to Catholics living in “irregular family situations” as part of a broader effort to support and integrate divorced and remarried Catholics into the life of the church.

“There are no other interpretations,” Francis wrote.

The pope’s praise of the document was the most direct evidence that Francis supports a significant change in the way individual priests deal with divorced Catholics.

Source: Pope endorsement softens stance on divorced Catholics | World news | The Guardian

Amoris Laetitiae: Panic on the Catholic Right

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LGBT and other progressive Catholics who expressed disappointment that Amoris Laetitiae did not change Church doctrines, should pay attention to the panic it has raised on the other side, among the orthotoxic, conservative rearguard. Rorate Caeli was quick off the block, describing it immediately and unequivocally as a “catastrophe”. Now Voice of the Family have issued a formal call for Pope Francis to withraw it.

There is huge irony in this. Previously, these same people would have attacked anyone who criticized Pope John Paul II or Benedict XVI on sexual matters as cafeteria Catholics, or worse as heretics – just for daring to disagree with papal authority. Now they are doing the same thing (just as their hero, Cardinal Raymond Burke, has tried to insist that the document is just a papal opinion, without magisterial authority).

Those who like to think of themselves as guardian of the faith, are panicking as they  discover that it is themselves, and not the rest of us, who are out of step with the Catholic Church.

Voice of the Family calls on Pope Francis to withdraw Amoris Laetitia

Over 100 pro-life and pro-family leaders from all over the world leapt to their feet in applause at a meeting in Rome on Saturday after hearing a call for Pope Francis to withdraw his controversial exhortationAmoris Laetitia.

John Smeaton, co-founder of Voice of the Family and the CEO of the UK Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, issued the request to the Pope in his keynote address at the annual Rome Life Forum.

Smeaton spoke following Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who in his speech decried growing confusion in the Church, and who has previously expressed grave concerns about the exhortation.

Smeaton highlighted several concerns with the exhortation, including:

  • the section about sex education, which speaks at length about sex education in schools, without reference to the rights of parents;
  • references to public adultery which fail to point out the intrinsic evil of adultery;
  • the suggestion that adulterous sexual acts may be justifiable; and,
  • the false message that marriage is not indissoluble.

Source: LifeSite

Can “Amoris Laetitia” Be a Starting Point for Progress on LGBT Issues? 

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“The apostolic exhortation is not just the last step of a long process. It is going to be another starting point.”

Amoris Laetitia

These words are from Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro, editor of the influential Civiltà Cattolica, commenting on Pope Francis’ exhortation about the family, Amoris Laetitia.

The exhortation has been a disappointment to many in terms of LGBT issues, with some commentators saying that it offers a stale, cursory, and at times condemnatory treatment of these topics. How then, can Amoris Laetitia, become a starting point for LGBT equality that leads to progress and not simply more of the same? I offer two thoughts.

First, the exhortation’s deficiencies must be admitted and addressed. Notably absent in the document, and the Synod deliberations preceding it, are the lives and experiences of LGBT people. Michael Bayly of The Wild Reed, citing the many testimonies which LGBT faithful have offered before, wrote:

“Do I expect the Vatican to share these types of testimonies, word-for-word, in official church documents? No. But I do expect those who claim to be leaders and teachers within our Catholic tradition to be open and responsive to the transforming presence of God within all people’s relational lives (including the lives of LGBTQ people) and to be committed to ensuring that our statements of collective wisdom (i.e., our church teachings) actually reflect the diverse nature of the beautiful gift of sexuality. . .Is that too much to ask?”

 

Source: Bondings 2.0