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| 1936-2025 |
Who am I to judge?
--Pope Francis, 2013
In a televised interview, where we spoke with natural and conversational language, it is understandable that there would not be such precise definitions...It is not the first time that I speak of homosexuality and of homosexual persons. And I wanted to clarify that it is not a crime, in order to stress that criminalization is neither good nor just...When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. Of course, one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault...As you can see, I was repeating something in general. I should have said, "It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage,"...This is to speak of "the matter" of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin...And I would tell whoever wants to criminalize homosexuality that they are wrong.
--Pope Francis, 2023
In the past I've thought about making Francis the subject of one of these "Pride" posts that I periodically do whenever a public figure says something positive about the LGBTQ community, especially if that public figure is themself not known to be LGBTQ (after all, they have less incentive to say something positive.) Instead, I held back. For one thing, this blog is not particularly tailored to the sensibilities of Roman Catholics. Don't like your church's (pre-Francis) stand on homosexuality? Then go find some other church! Also, I thought there was quite a bit of equivocating in that 2023 quote. I wanted something more forthright. And he says nothing about gay marriage, the lack of which dooms a gay sin-averse devout Catholic to a lifetime of...celibacy (hmm, let's not go there.)
As you can see, I've changed my mind. What changed that mind? Well, I thought, there are a lot of Roman Catholics in the world. Having lived all my life so far in the Cleveland area, I've certainly met my fair share of them (starting with my parents, who practiced a lapsed version of the faith.) Then there's this:
That picture was taken just yesterday outside the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where the late pope will be laid to rest. As I understand it, that flag is not being waved in protest but in support of Francis and his stand on LGBTQ matters. It's a reminder to me that some people can't change their belief systems as easily as I can change what toppings I put on my burger. One small step for a gay secularist or gay humanist is one giant leap for any gay person who would just as soon accept their church's teaching, especially when their church's teaching accepts them. Who am I to judge?
