LGBT News Pope Francis says Church should apologise to gays

Sounds amazing.. I'm glad times have moved on; even if its catholicism maybe some Christians can take a hint as well..

-Coming from a Christian.

 

I've heard that Pope Francis doesn't condone same-sex marriage (the last I heard), but at least he's being decent by saying that people shouldn't be judgmental jerkfaces.

I just hope people will follow his lead.

 

Conservatives are spinning in their graves. I love it

 

Conservative Catholics eg. My dear grandmother

 

Hopefully people can recognize that the Catholic church acknowledging that the LGBT community should not be marginalized or treated with disrespect is not a selling out of values. It's simply human decency. And it is so interesting to me that Francis draws ire for bringing attention to the Church's former oppression and its less savory dealings (i.e. the cover-up of sexual abuse). The Church cannot move forward without acknowledging such problems (and putting a stop to the current ones).

 

I honestly don't expect him to support same-sex marriage. Some people are just being really unfair to him when they think he's a raging homophobe because he doesn't support same-sex marriage. He's done more for gays in the church than I would expect any pope to. And for that, I applaud Pope Francis.

 

I agree completely. That would be selling out their values, and I don't expect the Church to ever condone same-sex marriage or homosexual intercourse. And they don't have to. It bothers me then to see people denouncing Francis on both sides of the spectrum, conservatives who think he's caving to social liberals and contradicting Biblical morality, and liberals (as well as members of the LGBT community) feeling that he hasn't gone far enough, that he's still just another Pope.

Perhaps some react more negatively because Francis gives them a taste of what acceptance from the Catholic church is like, but it's not the full SSM-approving acceptance they desire. But maybe one should manage their expectations better. For a conservative religious institution, even acknowledging that LGBT people should be respected is an important step (and this can be seen by how negatively some people react to even this simple edict!) It's also a testament to the idea that people can treat LGBT with decency even if they will always believe homosexuality activity is a sin.

 

I'm honestly not sure what to make of Pope Francis. There are plenty of times which he has pledged open support to the LGBT+ community and then said something bigoted about us a few months later...

For now though, I'm just going to be optimistic and thank him for not being a bigot.

 

On many progressive issues, history shows us that an apology is often issued alongside a change of heart, whenever the Catholic church realises it is losing the fight.

Whether this is a positive or negative outcome depends on the individual beliefs and hopes of each person but for me it is less than meaningless. The idea of the Pope and the hierarchy of the Catholic church is a hypocritical mess anyway.
Isn't this just confirmation that in fact it is the dirty rich church of men choosing whether or not to discriminate against and judge 'gays', rather than being the will of God? Or did God only just get round to updating the Pope with this new policy?

 

Well mind you he was a bouncer in clubs with a degree in chemistry before being ordained the pope... just saying.

 

I don't think it's gonna change anything, but it's nice seeing someone at the top preaching positive things.

 

He makes far more sense than most of the more prominent religious members, a good bit of the things he says are actually positive or constructive. Far from perfect, but compared to the crowd he's several steps ahead.

I'd love to see the US's right wing catch up.

 

Epic Pope.

 

I don't trust him

 

Nice. ^^

 

Will he officially do so and command the church to follow him in his quest for forgiveness? After all, he is more or less an autocrat in the organisation, authorised by the word of God.

Or will he instead recognise the temporal limits of the church, as a political organisation which must cater for frankly barbaric members, practices and byzantine politics?

I think he'll settle for the latter. He'll always be conditional, he'll always slip into the subjunctive, rather than categorically stating that he as the head of the RCC apologises in his official capacity.

I genuinely believe he wants to. I think he's moderately homophobic, but not a brute. I think he wants to make amends in some way and request forgiveness. Nonetheless, it would be politically suicidal to drag the African churches and many of the European and South American churches that way against their will.

And given the pontiff is not just the Vicar of Rome, but also in practical terms a politician and CEO, he has to make that compromise for the sake of the organisation.

 

Seems like a step in the right direction but I still don't trust any pope. In general it's ridiculous the Catholic Church has a history of controlling and shaming people for their sexuality but can't stop their child abuse. Believe what you wanna believe as long as you don't harm innocents but imho having a Pope feels like an outdated concept.

No I don't think he's a homophobe for not supporting gay marriage but I don't take too much value in what he does anyways. As long as he isn't harming innocent people I wish he lives well.

 

This news is evidence of our progress. Fabulosity!