On this past Monday, July 29, His Holiness Pope Francis ended his trip to Brazil for World Youth Day. By all assessments his trip was a success on many levels, concluding with the celebration of a Mass with an estimated number of 3,000,000 people participating!
As Pope Francis flew back to Rome, he granted the media people flying with him the opportunity to ask him questions. It has been reported that the journalists asked the Pope questions for over an hour. From various reports the conversation covered a wide variety of topics, some of which you may have heard about. There is one issue that I wish to write about today which is of interest as to how the Pope?s response was handled by the media.
In the course of the conversation the Holy Father was asked about gay people. He is reported as saying, ?If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him.? Without a doubt his answer is a genuine Catholic answer.
One only needs to review for example what the Catechism of the Catholic Church, issued in 1997 states regarding persons with a homosexual inclination: ?They . . . must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God?s will in their lives.?
Moreover, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had published in 2006 a statement entitled Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care. In this fine statement of Catholic teaching it states ?In fact, the Church actively asserts and promotes the intrinsic dignity of every person? and further states ?As baptized members of the Catholic community, persons with a homosexual inclination continue to look to the Church for a place where they may live in authentic human integrity and holiness of life. Being welcomed into and participating in their local community is the foundation of spiritual support that the Church offers to them. Full and active participation is encouraged.?
Further, the Church in this statement clearly states, ?Persons who experience same-sex attraction and are living in accord with Church teaching should be encouraged to take an active role in the life of the faith community.?
I share these Church teachings so that we may all realize that what our Holy Father said in his conversation with the journalists was what the Church has been steadily teaching. However, news media and a commentator quickly reported the story with a slant which would give a different assessment on what was said in the airplane!
For example, on the live edition of the ABC news on Monday, 29 July, it stated ?Pope Francis departed from his predecessors? remarks on gay people.? And again, ABC on the same day added the following from Marianne Duddy-Burke ?. . .what we have seen from this Pope is a real shift in emphasis.?
An early commentator, Father James Martin, S.J. of America magazine added his thought on the Pope?s response, ?It is remarkable and a decided shift in tone from the past.?
From the excerpts from the Catholic teaching sources noted above, we read what the Church actually has been teaching. In the two paragraphs immediately above we find statements which are inaccurate and misleading. One can only wonder what agenda was at work with the folks at ABC and with Father Martin!
If nothing else, this incident teaches us two things: #1 rely on Catholic Teaching when the subject being written or discussed is about Church teaching and not upon those who freely offer their thoughts with no foundation; and #2 know from the excerpts included in this column the Catholic teaching on people with homosexual inclinations who seek God and have good will, so that we are able to say who am I to judge them.
(The above column by the Most Reverend Richard Lennon, Bishop of Cleveland originally appeared in the Friday, August 2, 2013 issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Cleveland.)