It is hard to predict the Church’s position on this in the future. Remember for centuries the Church supported slavery, burning witches, etc. But now it is against those things.
Hearing the Pope say things like “Who am I to judge” when asked about homosexuality, is an indication of a potential shift. Although he seems to stick with the oppositional position against same sex marriage, we may be witnessing a Holy See change.
religionnews.com/2015/02/16/gay-catholics-find-new-tone-pope-francis-bishops/
The Church will not change it’s position on homosexual relations because it’s position comes straight from the Word of God, and in both the Old and New Testaments, and there is no way to interpret the passages for anything other than what they say. They are very clear, but people would like to pretend they don’t exist. Sexuality is not just a cultural development, like slavery and witch burning, which people can correct as they mature as a society and realize it’s evil, it is the very foundation upon which our species exists and survives, and homosexual marriages are not capable of perpetuating the human species. Sex has two purposes, human intimacy( the unitive), which allows for bonding and strong family structures to develop to protect the offspring and the family, and perpetuation of the species; so “marriages” between members of the same sex are not biologically possible. All marriages need to be consummated sexually, and that is not possible with members of the same sex. And it has been so since the beginning of the human species. Anything else is a disordered use of the sexual function of the human body.
However, it is the act, not the person, that is being judged as being sinful. People are persistent in trying to misunderstand this. They hear only what they want to hear. They purposefully misunderstand this in order to promote their agenda. The Pope cannot judge these people–only God is their judge. That is what the Pope means, because it is consistent with Church teaching. We do not judge people, whether Pope or not. We cannot read minds or hearts to ascertain any mitigating circumstances or understanding of the person, so our judgment cannot be truly just. We are called to judge someTHINGS as right or wrong according to what God has decreed, but God judges people. So the Pope is correct in saying “Who am I to judge?” He is not wavering on the issue, he is stating the position of the Church. And that is why you perceive this as him being oppositional to his statement. You have presumed something, and your presumption was in error.
You will never see a change in the position of the Pope or the teaching Magisterium on same sex marriage, despite anyone’s trying to read into what the Pope is saying. The Church, however, has compassion on people struggling with this, they are not to be condemned or discriminated against, but are afforded human dignity, because they are created by God. We are to love them as God loves them, and this applies to all sinners, of which we all can claim to be.
Any sex outside of the bonds of marriage between a man and woman is sinful. The homosexual acts are not considered any worse than adultery (which breaks the marriage covenant, which symbolizes the covenant between God and His people), fornication (sex between two unmarried people) and bestiality. However, right now people are trying to naturalize and normalize homosexual relations, and that is causing it to be the object of more attention.
I hope you can appreciate more the actual position of the Church on the issue.
