Since the news broke some days ago that Pope Francis, on behalf of the Catholic Church, has signed a decree that permits priests to bless same sex couples, the western media has been thrown into a frenzy of sorts. The excitement that comes from a perceived victory in the campaign to legitimize bestiality is palpable.
We recall that before this development, gay rights have been elevated to the status of state policy by countries in Europe and North America whereby nations, especially developing ones, were bullied to permit those rights in their socio-political life or economic aid would cease. It has been a battle weakened in favour of the developed nations by this epochal intervention of the Catholic Church legendary for its conservatism particularly on matters of morality.
In arriving at this decision that is certain to change the perception of the church not just by non-Catholics but also by Catholics themselves, the Holy Father pointed out that “God’s style is closeness, mercy and tenderness”.
He went on to say that “God is Father and He does not disown any of His children”, and made reference to the book of the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible. As far as Pope Francis is concerned, the rejection of those category of people ought not to be recognized as “the rejection of the church,” but instead of “people in the church.” The church, he stressed, is a mother and calls together all her children. As an example, he cited the parable of those invited to the feast: “the just, the sinners, the rich and the poor, etc.” A “selective” church, one of “pure blood,” is not Holy Mother Church, but rather a sect, he said.
The Catholic Pontiff warned that “we cannot be judges who only deny, push back and exclude.” “As such, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or several people, that do not convey a wrong idea of a matrimony. Because when one seeks a blessing, one is requesting help from God.”
While the Pope’s note denounces same-sex marriages, other religious leaders say it also recognizes the possibility for change in an institution with decreasing rates of attendance. Sign of his drift was noticeable early in his Pontificate. While aboard the papal plane returning to Rome from Brazil, he said in response to a reporter’s question about homosexuality: “Who am I to judge?”
But the worry among Catholics is how far can this Pope go in acknowledging the need to address issues of inclusion within the religion. The apprehension, so pervasive as this issue unfolds, is that Pope Francis might go the whole hug and overturn centuries of doctrine – women would become Catholic priests, abortion would be permitted and same-sex couples would be allowed church weddings.
Another sign of change came last month when the Vatican said that transgender people could, under certain circumstances, be baptised in the Catholic church and serve as godparents.
The Vatican in a ruling from its doctrinal office, said that Priests “should not prevent or prohibit the church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing”. However, a caveat that such blessings should not offer “the impression of a marriage” did very little to assuage the anxiety in the mind of some Catholics who feel somewhat betrayed by their leaders on an issue that goes beyond the religious. For many in developing countries that harbour large Catholic population, same sex relationship is a trado-cultural taboo which they had hoped the Church would help protect.
Already, a Synod, a council held for the discussion of issues like this, is due at the Vatican and the topic will likely be at the center of conversations when bishops from across the globe, and for the first time ever, female clergy, again under Francis’ Papacy, will gather in Rome.
Some Vatican observers see the unfolding drama as part of an effort by the Pope, especially in what he is doing, to call the church to a time of communicating, of listening and sharing, of growing, of moving ahead together. This, in our view, also requires that attention be paid to the sensibilities of members of the church whose opinions should matter. Bending church rules to accommodate deviant behaviour is not the way to go because there may be no end to it.
A few weeks ago, he stripped a retired cardinal, Raymond Burke, one of his most vociferous opponents, of his stipend and rent-free Vatican apartment. Burke, an American, has openly challenged Francis and his reforms, joining other conservatives in issuing “dubia”, or formal questions, seeking clarification on issues such as divorced and remarried Catholics and same-sex unions.
A few weeks before that, Pope Francis forcibly removed another opponent, Joseph Strickland, as bishop of Tyler, in Texas, after a contrived Vatican investigation into the governance of his diocese which came after he made his views on the matter known. Other conservatives and traditionalists within the church hierarchy may be wondering who, or what, is next. In clamping down on dissent, the Pope may have unwittingly repudiated his position that “God’s style is closeness, mercy and tenderness”.
However, this newspaper is persuaded to aver that the Pope, in arriving at this decision, may have succumbed to the blackmail of the West so as to be politically correct. But he needs not be.
