New Pope, no hope for progressive gay views

New Pope, no hope for progressive gay views

There’s a new Pope in place, but no new hope for progression in LGBT issues within the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, formerly known as Argentine Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, maybe have initially inspired some hope among LGBT activists because Argentina is a strong supporter of gay rights. The country legalized marriage equality in 2010, making Argentina the second country in the Americas to legalize same sex marriage and the tenth worldwide. Argentina also has a number of anti-discrimination and transgender rights laws in place, plus allows adoption by single gays and same-sex couples.

Pope Francis, however, does not bring his country’s progressive views with him into the Popemobile. Here’s a roundup of his anti-gay past:

  • In 2010, when Argentina legalized marriage equality, Bergoglio wrote: “Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”
  • He also called the move a “real and dire anthropological throwback” and could “seriously injure the family.”
  • In 2006, he criticized pro-gay moves toward reformed adoption laws saying that the government was going against the will of the Argentinian people and trying to convince the Catholic Church “to waver in our defense of the dignity of the person.”
  • He’s also called adoption by gays a form of discrimination against children, saying it deprives them “of the human growth that God wanted them given by a father and a mother.”
  • It’s small comfort, but in when talking about gay rights he has reaffirmed Catholic Church teachings from the Catechism: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. 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 and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.” So, very love the sinner hate the sin.

More in News

See More