The Pope is “shocked” by gay adoption, according to the Bishop of Malta. Bishop Charles Scicluna of Malta defended his Christmas sermon in which he condemned adoption between same-sex couples by claiming that Pope Francis gave the anti-gay sentiments of the address his blessing.
The Bishop told the congregation that God’s own son was raised by a man and a woman, and not by two men or two women.
In an interview with The Sunday Times of Malta, Bishop Scicluna said he met with Pope Francis on 12 December, and the pair discussed “many aspects” of the Bishop’s sermon.
Bishop Scicluna said The Pope was “shocked” by the Maltese Civil Unions Bill that aims to legalise gay adoption.
“When I raised the issue that’s worrying me as a bishop [gay adoption] he encouraged me to speak out," said Bishop Scicluna.
Previously, the Bishop said that the sexual activity of heterosexual couples has a “fundamental role in producing future members of society” whereas the sexual activity of same-sex couples does not “as it does not produce offspring”.
The news comes after Pope Francis was voted person of the year by leading gay rights magazine The Advocate after he said: “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?”
However, as Argentina’s Cardinal Bergoglio, he condemned gay adoption and marriage, but supported civil partnerships as the lesser of two evils.
I was all ab out giving this Pope the benefit of the doubt, and took a wait and see attitude.
Well I waited, and I've seen.
In fact I think I've seen enough.
His views on women and gay rights is essentially just as backward and judgmental as those who came before him. No great change, just a slicker package.
IOW Yes, the pope does shit in the woods.
ReplyDeleteVery True Gryphen. ..Just a different way of selling their hate..
ReplyDeleteSooner or later, the limits of his sweet nothings were sure to be revealed. Queerty seized on The Advocate endorsement right away as going way too far too soon.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.queerty.com/five-reasons-why-the-advocate-is-dangerously-wrong-to-name-pope-francis-man-of-the-year-20131219/
I wanted to believe this pope was different, but he's just not.
ReplyDeleteYup! I agree with you Mr. G. But, I do like the way the new Pope gets Sarah Palin and her ilk all wee-weed up!
ReplyDeleteIt's still the catholic church some things won't change regardless of who is pope.
ReplyDelete3:29 Exactly. He's the Pope not a politician or popelitician. ;)
DeleteI still like him as the Pope. He's the most progressive Pope in my lifetime.
I think you have to look at where Pope Francis came from, South America is a stronghold of Catholic old school ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do NOT agree with any Catholic ideas, I am smart enough to know he is still the most liberal Pope in the last 800 yrs.
My sediments exactly. This coming from an old altar boy. This pope is refreshing and more progressive than anyone could have expected. Give the little guy some time. Let's not crucify him right away.
DeleteThere is no such thing as a liberal pope. The Catholic Church has a few liberal teachings about caring for the poor, which Pope Francis has simply been repeating more often than his predecessor. But that's it.
DeleteWe all seem to forget Pope John XXIII who did much to move the Catholic Church forward into the 20th century. This pops is new; he's already rocked to boat. If not demonized at this point he might open up some more. Accepting gays and easing up on birth control and abortion would mean reversing centuries of indoctrination. Not impossible, but unlikely in the near future. Let's give the new pope credit for the steps he's already taken and give him the opportunity to move forward in the future. I've not given up on him.
DeleteBeaglemom
Despite having retired the old Pope, the normal way to dispose of a dangerously liberal Pope is to have him conveniently die. The people running the Catholic church wield all the power of almost unimaginable wealth and entrenched political puppets. Those in power will not tolerate a Pope that might reduce that power in any way.
ReplyDeleteWhatever Pope Francis' personal beliefs, he looks to be bright enough to understand what could happen to him if he doesn't stick to the script. Is reforming the church worth losing you life? My bet is the Pope Francis would say "NO!".
I wonder if they still have food tasters at the Vatican.
DeleteYou watch too many movies.
DeleteI bet they are trying to repair their imagine and bring in younger believers.
@Game of Life 12:33
DeleteAs it happens I watch very few movies and little TV. However, I have read a great many books. You might benefit from reading up on the history of the Catholic church and history in general. Movies just don't cover much in the way of facts.
Albino Luciani -- RIP
DeleteGame of Life: i am quite sure they are trying to improve their 'imagine'.
DeleteImagine...if they were concerned about more than their 'image' than their imagination.
And it can't be said enough: Luciani was a victim of the vatican, not the leader.
The B.
In July 2013, in discussion with reporters on a plane, Pope Francis said "The role of women doesn't end just with being a mother and with housework..."
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the sentence really doesn't matter. ANY JERK that starts off with that doesn't deserve to be heard. He might have sounded normal with that in 19 f'ing 40 or maybe 1950, but in 2013 he sounds like a misogynist creep with the brain of very immature boy that has spent a life wallowing in male isolation.
If a man said that within my hearing in my workplace, I would begin to pull strings to get him out of the organization. None of the women on my team should have to pull that amount of misogyny up to the level being tolerable.
Here's the problem. A gal turns to her boy friend or husband and says that she's pregnant. It's not his baby, but she hopes that he will understand and participate in raising the child. No, I'm not writing about Bristol and Levi, or Bristol and Joey Junker. No, it's not Sarah Palin and Todd (surprise, Todd!) That's the story that Mary told Joseph, and just when they thought that they have put their past behind them, they had to return to their home town to be counted for the census. Sure, Joe's a good guy, and he agreed to raise someone else's child.
ReplyDeleteAs Hillary Clinton said, "What difference does it make?" In this case, one of the two "parents" is not the birth parent of the child. Joe could have just as easily been Josephine or Josie. Jesus did not go into the family business; he did not become a carpenter. He chose some radical new line of work, curing the sick, handing out food to the hungry and never charging anything.
So, in the end, the Pope is like our politicians, telling people what they want to hear. (Who am I to judge?) And, after getting his multiple Person of the Year awards, he judged.
A simple "condoms save lives" preached from every pulpit would do wonders for public health. Pope Francis is more into the public relations freebie from washing a few feet.
ReplyDeleteAbstinence saves more lives.
DeleteThere is no such thing as abstinence.
DeleteBirth control, condoms, sex education and affordable health care save lives.
Speaking of gay, I hope Pope Frank isn't a Packer fan! http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2013/12/aaron-rodgers-rumor-gay-kevin-lanflisi-lover-green-bay-packers-nfl-lgbt/
ReplyDeleteAs judge Judy always says, "if it seems too good to be true", it usually is.
ReplyDelete"His views on women and gay rights is essentially just as backward and judgmental as those who came before him. No great change, just a slicker package."
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've seen the light. I hope everyone else who's been singing this pope's praises does, too. He's the same as the old boss. That's the bottom line.
Seems like a nice enough guy to me. I mean nobody's perfect. Even the pope.
DeleteWhat about his views on the rich helping the poor and going out in public and washing feet with little or no security. I can understand why you aren't sure about him, but how long has he been the pope? Not very.
DeleteThen, 6:07, tell it to the poor women in Ireland and South American countries who've died excruciating deaths because the Catholic Church forbids abortions, even of nonviable fetuses, to save the life of the mother. This is one of the Church's inviolate rules that Pope Francis fully supports. Nice guy, huh?
DeleteThe problem is that Catholics believe the Pope IS perfect.
DeleteAnd, "nobody's perfect" works better when you're talking about your kid or your coworker or the person who makes your coffee, not the religious head of a national religious organization.
Progress is excruciatingly slow in the Catholic Church, and the structural beliefs take centuries to change.
ReplyDeleteWhile he's done some good with his comments urging the faithful to follow Jesus' teachings more closely, he's still an old Catholic priest who's lived in the insulated, backward, misogynistic and bigoted world of the church for almost 80 years. Accepting the equality of women and gays in our modern world is not going to happen anytime soon.
There are certain principles that the Catholic Church will never let go of. They really are no different than Mormons in regard to misogyny or gays.
DeleteHoly Unbelievable! Guess this was your wake up call, eh? Yeah, mine too. The same pope who seemed so accepting is slamming the door shut with his next breath. Oh well, he got HIS photo on the cover of Time Magazine, now the gloves come off.
ReplyDeleteWith all the children in the world looking for a loving family, this guy would rather they suffer than have same sex couples give them a loving home? Kind of pitiful and un Christ like, if you think about it.
I was glad to hear the Pope correctly cite some of Christ's teaching.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of it, he can bite me. Or live in the hell some in the Church have inflicted upon the innocent.
I have no tolerance--none--for pompous posturing and self-righteousness and lies, and for me, that's at the heart of the institution of the Church.
I do respect those who try to follow a spiritual path. It's just shameful when religious leaders subvert that spirituality by trying to exploit their followers in order to acquire wealth and power.
Don't anyone be surprised. Remember what happened the the last pope that wanted to 'reform' the church?
ReplyDeleteNo one ever mentions him. His chosen name was John-Paul I.
They murdered him, and forgot him, except perhaps as an object lesson to future popes with big ideas about reform.
And if nothing changes, nothing changes.
The B.
Albino Luciani -- a victim of mankind's longest-running scam: religion.
DeleteHe's the pope and it's the Catholic Church. What can any of us expect?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing different about this pope is the PR.
ReplyDelete