Notorious homeboy Pope Francis is at it again! In a documentary released early last week at the Rome Film Festival, the pontiff openly endorsed same-sex civil unions. This is a revolution for the Catholic Church who—believe it or not—are historically not too big about this stuff.
“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,” Francis said. “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.”
For countries like Canada and the United States, this information doesn’t seem to mean a whole lot. Same-sex marriage has been legal for years and the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community only continues to grow.
But for countries where simply being gay is illegal, these words are revolutionary. It is a step in the right direction towards full recognition and although the pope did mention he was against gay marriage, baby steps.
It’s safe to say the Vatican is less than approving of Francis’ views on same sex relationships, as they have always been openly against gay unions. They “obscure basic moral values” leading to the “devaluation of marriage,” according to the Roman Catholic Church.
They sound like a grumpy child of divorce discovering his mother and her new partner Morgan won’t be home from Vermont in time for Christmas caroling. Christ, it’s 2020.
There are plenty of ridiculous rules throughout the Bible that Catholics love to ignore. According to Leviticus 25:44-46 “You may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you.” We’ve abolished that rule—for the most part. What’s stopping us now?
How about Deuteronomy 23:1? “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.” As reasonable as this sounds, just like the majority of the Bible, it doesn’t make a lot of sense in regards to modern day society.
Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence said, “The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been long-standing teaching.” And thank God for that.
This speaks nothing to whatever higher power you do or don’t believe in but rather speaks solely to those taking the word of the Bible out of context to abuse outsiders according to their personal religious agenda.
These rules and regulations are rooted in fear, the fear of the unknown. Two thousand years ago that would have been accepted but the more we grow and progress as a society, the more we learn about people. There is no excuse for such behavior in today’s day and age—even from the Church.
Pope Francis has made a huge step on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community and hopefully his message will create a ripple effect down the entire chain of command throughout the Roman Catholic Church. If the damn Pope can do it, so can you.
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