Speaking in Dublin, Cardinal Reinhard Marx commented:
Until “very recently”, the church, but also society at large, had been “very negative about gay people . . . it was the whole society. It was a scandal and terrible,” he told The Irish Times after speaking at a conference held in Trinity College.
He said he had “shocked” people at the October 2014 extraordinary synod of bishops in Rome when he asked how it was possible to dismiss as worthless a same-sex relationship of years duration where both men had been faithful.
“We have to respect the decisions of people. We have to respect also, as I said in the first synod on the family, some were shocked but I think it’s normal, you cannot say that a relationship between a man and a man and they are faithful [that] that is nothing, that has no worth,” he said.
The risk for the Church is that the prohibition against homosexuality is a standard and clear doctrine that the church membership has relied on for centuries. To say that such a fundamental teaching was wrong or no longer applies could shake the more conservative elements in the Church and cause them to question any and all teachings that they have relied on for their entire lives. And these conservative members are really the bedrock of the membership, so that type of change could truly damage the church. That is true in the United States, but even more so in some of the more conservative nations in Africa, Asia, and places like Italy and Ireland where the loosening of societal disapproval of homosexuality has been slower in coming than in other parts of Europe or the U.S.
There have been other remarks from the Pope regarding sin and theology that have shaken the true believers as well and caused them to wonder if this is the same church they grew up in. Recently he suggested that the majority of church marriages were null because they lacked the understanding of permanence and commitment necessary to truly be a union sealed by God. He quickly walked that comment back a bit, but it still was one that invited further consideration due to our impermanent and unserious culture of today.
The Pope truly is making waves and causing some members to evaluate their faith and commitment to the Church. Whether that will lead to a more dedicated membership or cause further erosion to the core base remains to be seen.
Source: edition.cnn.com, Irish Times
John Kelly?
what a mess you Catholics have in this socialist pope
yeah as soon as you aplologize to all the small children you all rape. its not just little boys they like people . its hildren in general
I make no apologies. We are warned against Sexual Immorality! Plain and Simple. Adultery is Adultery. It really doesn’t matter if you are Gay, Straight, or Bisexual. A Sin is still a sin no matter how you look at it or deny it.
What happened to true morality? I think you can be attracted to another (disregarding birth sex), but by committing a sexual act, whether with a man, woman, or beast, outside of a Godly Marriage, you will be judged by Jesus Christ. Nothing you say or believe will matter when you approach God’s Throne.