Pope Francis: Who am I to judge gay people?

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It was a brilliant comment because he was able to direct attention to the Church’s true teachings about persons with same sex attraction in a loving and pastoral way. “Who Am I To Judge” was EVERYWHERE that day.
The left should extend that attitude to their feelings about George Zimmerman.
 
I agree. Masturbation is disordered on both counts. But an adulterous affair between a man and a woman that is open to life is morally disordered but not biologically disordered. Masturbation is different than this adultery scenario since masturbation is intrinsically closed to life and because it does not meet the requirement of “sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman” (CCC 2360).
Fair enough, but I must say that I do know persons with SSA that are really faithful to their call to chastity, but then know heterosexuals that fornicate outside of marriage and have no wish in repenting. That is my own personal experience. I know persons with SSA that struggle with lust, and ones that their SSA plays little to no role in their life.
 
That’s under those specific conditions. What about when the coital act doesn’t involve the use of a condom but the two are committing adultery, for example? What if this couple is open to life and they believe that they are “in love” with each other (though mistakenly, of course)? In that case, I think it’s a sin but not one that is disordered in how the male and female body is made. I think when the Catechism talks about disorder in this case it’s talking about being disordered in terms of morality. But when it talks about homosexual acts being disordered it’s in terms of the biological design of the body. So I see it as there being two types of disorder discussed in the Catechism - one biological, and the other moral.
It is something that isn’t often talked about but it is a disordered use of the body to attempt to join one person’s reproductive system with the other person’s excretory system. In God’s perfect design, joining reproductive systems conjugally allows the husband and wife’s sperm and ovum to meet without immunological problems (except in rare circumstances). Dr. Janet Smith talks about the physical problems caused by attempting to putting reproductive body fluids in someone else’s excretory system. For whatever reason, this reality is sanitized and wordsmithed in the press, similar to abortion- the press and proponents will never admit to calling it what it is.
 
It is something that isn’t often talked about but it is a disordered use of the body to attempt to join one person’s reproductive system with the other person’s excretory system. In God’s perfect design, joining reproductive systems conjugally allows the husband and wife’s sperm and ovum to meet without immunological problems (except in rare circumstances). Dr. Janet Smith talks about the physical problems caused by attempting to putting reproductive body fluids in someone else’s excretory system. For whatever reason, this reality is sanitized and wordsmithed in the press, similar to abortion- the press and proponents will never admit to calling it what it is.
:confused: So, you basically saying that God’s gift of Sex is only to be used by husband and wife within Marriage, without the use of contraceptives? Your right, that is what the Catholic church is beliefs, but I know you understand that even heterosexual sex among married couples can be disordered.
 
It is something that isn’t often talked about but it is a disordered use of the body to attempt to join one person’s reproductive system with the other person’s excretory system.
It is also very false that all homosexuals want to do such a thing. Anal sex is probably not even the dominant sex act among male homosexuals, much less the only one. Oral sex to orgasm, which is practiced just as commonly by our friendly non-disordered fornicators, is probably more common among gay men. Lots of SSA men are not at all interested in anal sex.

Sorry for the graphic details, but this is a misconception that bothers me. 😊
 
It is something that isn’t often talked about but it is a disordered use of the body to attempt to join one person’s reproductive system with the other person’s excretory system.
Of course also the vagina and penis are part of the excretory system. So that would make heterosexual sex a disordered use of the body?

It is a simple fact of life that our reproductive organs and excretory organs are the very same organs.
 
It’s not just a ‘liberal thing’., it’s not political. People of all political shades label themselves : White, Black, American, Texan, Irish-American, Hispanic, Native-American, Gay, Straight etc.

People cannot logically argue that for a person to give identify himself under one label is an obsession, whereas identifying himself under another label isn’t an obsession.
I wasn’t referring to the simple act of labeling oneself as certain things (“American”, “Chinese”, etc), I was referring to extensive use of labeling (especially of others), that is, the lens through which society is seen is one that divides into many small groups, regardless of self-identification of those involved.

By liberal, I meant socially liberal (e.g. adherents of the “new morality”), not necessarily connected to politics (the arrow of causality is open for debate, of course). My point about [social] liberals making more extensive use of labels still stands.
If you saw a teenager get up in church and give a testimony about her commitment to keep her virginity until marriage, wouldn’t this be an inspiration? Yes, because the culture largely accepts fornication.
Not to undermine your point, but there are unfortunately a sizable number of Catholics who would oppose that (or at least, would not support it).
As for your comments about Saint Austin, are you saying that he should not have been a Bishop and the Holy See should recant his Sainthood? I am not trying to put words in your mouth, just asking for clarification
Given the hindsight bias present (which surely drives a number of people to certain conclusions), it’s hard to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ (to the first part, that is - you’ve made a conjunction between two completely different things). He could have been another bishop-gone-rogue - the concerns of people he encountered were well-founded. It’s no different than today - people with comparable life experiences are not handed comparable positions (in fact, they are even less likely to have that given a larger pool of people to select from for a position). Hindsight bias is also very dangerous when comparing with living people (e.g. canonization takes place after someone is dead).

As for a move to “recant his Sainthood” - no, I wouldn’t support that, even if such a thing were possible.

+Sebastian
 
Compare Francis’ wishy-washy liberal relativist nonsense with the words of a true pope, St. Pius V.

"That horrible crime, on account of which corrupt and obscene cities were destroyed by fire through divine condemnation, causes us most bitter sorrow and shocks our mind, impelling us to repress such a crime with the greatest possible zeal.

Quite opportunely the Fifth Lateran Council [1512-1517] issued this decree: “Let any member of the clergy caught in that vice against nature, given that the wrath of God falls over the sons of perfidy, be removed from the clerical order or forced to do penance in a monastery” (chap. 4, X, V, 31).

So that the contagion of such a grave offense may not advance with greater audacity by taking advantage of impunity, which is the greatest incitement to sin, and so as to more severely punish the clerics who are guilty of this nefarious crime and who are not frightened by the death of their souls, we determine that they should be handed over to the severity of the secular authority, which enforces civil law.

Therefore, wishing to pursue with greater rigor than we have exerted since the beginning of our pontificate, we establish that any priest or member of the clergy, either secular or regular, who commits such an execrable crime, by force of the present law be deprived of every clerical privilege, of every post, dignity and ecclesiastical benefit, and having been degraded by an ecclesiastical judge, let him be immediately delivered to the secular authority to be put to death, as mandated by law as the fitting punishment for laymen who have sunk into this abyss."

traditioninaction.org/religious/n009rp_HomosexualPriests.htm

It seems Pope St. Pius V had no qualms about judging sodomites.
 
By liberal, I meant socially liberal (e.g. adherents of the “new morality”), not necessarily connected to politics (the arrow of causality is open for debate, of course). My point about [social] liberals making more extensive use of labels still stands.
There was plenty of labelling due to skin colour in the Southern States of the USA prior to the 1970s. I’m not sure that it was liberals who were responsible for that.
 
Of course also the vagina and penis are part of the excretory system. So that would make heterosexual sex a disordered use of the body?

It is a simple fact of life that our reproductive organs and excretory organs are the very same organs.
Wow, you’re comparing the normal use of the reproductive organs to the unnatural use of an orifice designed for expelling feces. Only coprophiles think it’s a good idea to use the rectum for sexual purposes.
 
Compare Francis’ wishy-washy liberal relativist nonsense with the words of a true pope, St. Pius V.
Now you stop that right now. It is most unbecoming to speak of the Holy Father in such a manner as uncouth as this.
 
Look, in light of the “gay lobby” rumors, I totally get why someone with “deep seated” homosexual tendencies needs to be well-vetted. But it’s pretty clear that yes, you are conflating the two. That’s just wrong. And if you don’t believe me, I suggest you take a course in human sexuality. Or heck, just go to something like VIRTUS and see just how wrong you are. Most child abusers are heterosexual; namely because most people in general are heterosexual. Unless of course what our dioceses are telling us are wrong.

The “gay lobby” is a problem as Francis said. It is a totally separate issue from the child sexual abuse scandal.
First off I was not referring to the homosexual abuse of teen boys although that is well documented. I was referring to the infiltration by homosexual persons into seminaries and positions of power in dioceses. That too is well documented. They do not have to abuse anyone to promote heterodoxy.

I do not want to keep going down this rabbit hole but your minimizing of this serious disorder does not make it so.
 
See that’s where the clear-cut problem is… what makes the homosexual inclination more dangerous than the heterosexual one outside of the propensity for religious people who have homosexual tendencies to hide them? The problem is their living in the dark as opposed to living in the light.
No, the point is to conflate a disorder with a normal inclination does violence to the truth.
Pope Francis was clear on the issue of “crimes” and we know exactly what crimes to which he is referring.
No, he made a short remark and we have that remark filtered through bias sources.
Aside from the issue of being in the seminary and surrounded by a bunch of other men, what makes a priest with homosexual inclinations less able to serve a flock than one who is heterosexual? Why is the homosexual man perceived as more likely to fall?
For several reasons including the fact that this inclination is not normal. You can read what the last Pope said to help fill you in.
Pedophiles are potential predators and could lead to a situation where more are victimized. There are no “victims” in a case where a homosexual priest has sex with another man. Or when a heterosexual one has sex with a woman. There is sin and scandal to be sure, but no victims.
It is a serious deviation not one to be minimized because pop culture tells you that.
Again, outside of the issue of prudence due to the seminary being a “bubble” in which sin could flourish, much like college for your average guy quite honestly, what’s the problem?
Again the problem is:

The liturgical impact of homosexuality in the priesthood
 
I was referring to the infiltration by homosexual persons into seminaries and positions of power in dioceses. That too is well documented. They do not have to abuse anyone to promoted heterodoxy.

I do not want to keep going down this rabbit hole but your minimizing of this serious disorder does not make it so.
The problem is that those of us who have, as you call it, this “serious disorder” resent the implication that we are most of us just itching to promote heterodoxy. I am a married man, but I once wanted to be a priest. I have SSA. I had NO intention of promoting heterodoxy. I have absolutely orthodox views, perhaps even sometimes scrupulous views, going beyond what orthodoxy strictly requires, and had I ever been a bishop or cardinal my “serious disorder” as you call it would not have made me anymore prone than any “straight” clergy to embracing or promoting heterodoxy.

I love orthodoxy. I love the Church. It sickens me when people DO try to change the Church’s timeless doctrine and moral teaching, to the point that I even sometimes (I’m ashamed to admit) lack charity for these people. And yet there are people out there who think that, JUST because I have SSA, that if someone like me were elevated to a position of power in the Church he would be at special risk of promoting heterodoxy? I’m sorry, but that IS insulting, it’s presumptuous, it’s not true.

There is a huge difference between someone who simply HAS same sex attractions and someone who has decided that the Church’s moral teachings are wrong. The current problem with this “homosexual lobby” that many speak of in the Church is not that these men have SSA, it’s that they decided–probably long before becoming clergy–that the Church’s teachings were wrong and that they knew better than the Church. They went in with an agenda. But that agenda is NOT inherently tied to anybody who has SSA. To say so is accusatory, judgmental, and only makes it harder for those of us who bear this cross and would never DREAM of questioning the timeless and unchangeable wisdom of Mother Church. 😦
 
The problem is that those of us who have, as you call it, this “serious disorder” resent the implication that we are most of us just itching to promote heterodoxy. I am a married man, but I once wanted to be a priest. I have SSA. I had NO intention of promoting heterodoxy. I have absolutely orthodox views, perhaps even sometimes scrupulous views, going beyond what orthodoxy strictly requires, and had I ever been a bishop or cardinal my “serious disorder” as you call it would not have made me anymore prone than any “straight” clergy to embracing or promoting heterodoxy.

I love orthodoxy. I love the Church. It sickens me when people DO try to change the Church’s timeless doctrine and moral teaching, to the point that I even sometimes (I’m ashamed to admit) lack charity for these people. And yet there are people out there who think that, JUST because I have SSA, that if someone like me were elevated to a position of power in the Church he would be at special risk of promoting heterodoxy? I’m sorry, but that IS insulting, it’s presumptuous, it’s not true.

There is a huge difference between someone who simply HAS same sex attractions and someone who has decided that the Church’s moral teachings are wrong. The current problem with this “homosexual lobby” that many speak of in the Church is not that these men have SSA, it’s that they decided–probably long before becoming clergy–that the Church’s teachings were wrong and that they knew better than the Church. They went in with an agenda. But that agenda is NOT inherently tied to anybody who has SSA. To say so is accusatory, judgmental, and only makes it harder for those of us who bear this cross and would never DREAM of questioning the timeless and unchangeable wisdom of Mother Church. 😦
If you have this condition and you deal with it as you should then there is no reason to be upset by what I wrote. You cannot look at recent history and deny the obvious.How would anyone know you have SSA?
 
If you do not believe me would you accept what the Pope says:
Pope, in book, says homosexuality incompatible with priesthood

The pope answered: “No. It is one thing to say that they are human beings with their problems and their joys, that as human beings they deserve respect, even though they have this inclination, and must not be discriminated against because of it.”
“At the same time, though, sexuality has an intrinsic meaning and direction, which is not homosexual,” he said. “The meaning and direction of sexuality is to bring about the union of man and woman and, in this way, to give humanity posterity, children, a future.”
The pope said the church needs to hold firm on this point, “even if it is not pleasing to our age.”
The pope cited a 2005 Vatican document that drew a sharp line against priestly ordination of homosexuals. He said the document emphasized that homosexual candidates cannot become priests because their sexual orientation interferes with “the proper sense of paternity” that belongs to the priesthood.
 
If you have this condition and you deal with it as you should then there is no reason to be upset by what I wrote. You cannot look at recent history and deny the obvious.How would anyone know you have SSA?
I do see recent history, and I can see that there are those within the Church’s hierarchy who are obviously trying to promote heterodox ideas, but I do not think that this promotion is part and parcel to their SSA. All throughout history, there have been people who tried to promote heterodoxy. It just so happens that, in our current cultural times, homosexuality and whether or not it should be permitted to act upon it is a hot button issue. Homosexual people who are NOT interested in orthodoxy or chaste lives have the most to gain from breaking sexual mores of the Church; so it makes sense that some dishonest and heterodox homosexuals would be the ones, in our current culture, to try to change the Church from within.

But the point I was making is that these people’s problem, the thing that makes them dangerous as clergy, is NOT that they have SSA, but that they were willing to change the Church’s timeless Truth (if it were possible) to suit their desires and whims. And that’s a risk that is present across the board. In other situations, it could have been greed, or prejudice, etc., whose unorthodox strugglers took advantage of opportunities to try to mold the Church to their whims.

But there is nothing about SSA, in and of itself, that makes those of us who struggle with it more prone to trying to mold the Church along heterodox lines than people with other temptations. That’s the implication that bothers me.

As for how people would know that I have SSA, those who do know are people that I have trusted with this. Do I wish that people could be more open about SSA publicly? Yes, but not so that they could “brag,” or “rub it in people’s faces,” but so that they wouldn’t live with the constant fear that “If friend X or relative Y knew that I struggled with this, they’d hate me.” If you know that you could potentially be public about something without extreme repercussions, then you feel much safer that you won’t be rejected when you open up about it on more intimate or localized settings, even if you never actually take advantage of the fact that you could, if you wanted, be more publicly open. That’s all that most of us want: We don’t want to shout anything from the mountains, we just want to be comfortable that, if our secret DID come out or when we DO trust someone with this, it won’t mean we’ll be ostracized and hated; that, if we DID openly share our struggles in the context of testimony so as to reach out to others hiding with this cross and make them feel less alone, that we wouldn’t be ruining our lives. Is that so much to ask?
If you do not believe me would you accept what the Pope says:
I do believe that the Pope likely has good reason for what he says, and I myself felt that the priesthood was probably not the best option for me, partly due to my struggles with SSA (although if I hadn’t been struggling with pornography, etc., I wouldn’t have seen nearly so much of a problem), and so I left Seminary of my own initiative. But I don’t believe that every person with SSA would be as ill-suited to the priesthood as I would be. I can’t judge every person with SSA by my own shortcomings.

The Pope’s words seem to me to have been pastoral and disciplinary, not doctrinal, so I think we are at liberty to believe that even if there is wisdom in his words there can also be exceptions for those men with SSA who are winning the battle against impurity more consistently.

When the Pope says something that is not Ex Cathedra, we are not bound to believe it as though it was doctrine, but we are called to weigh the wisdom of his words and give them proper respect and (as long as it’s Church policy) obedience; and indeed, I do believe that many men with SSA do struggle with a proper sense of paternity, because SSA often makes a man doubt his own masculinity. But I also believe it is fully possible for a man with SSA to conquer these insecurities, so that he can claim his masculinity more perfectly and be just as good a father figure as anyone; after all, many of us with SSA do marry and father children, and a “sense of paternity” is important there too. If a man can be a good father, there’s a good chance he could’ve been a good priest too, at least as far as a proper sense of paternity is concerned. So therefore, although I respect and even grant the wisdom of the Pope’s words, I do not think they are applicable to every man who struggles with SSA, perhaps not even by a long shot. So there can be legitimate (and perfectly orthodox) change to this sort of policy, without denying the general wisdom of the Pope’s concern here.
 
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