I took this picture myself, surreal no?
Earlier in the week we had the surreal announcement from the Vatican press office that Pope Francis was not doing away with sin! Yes, the secular media and those in the shrill traditionalists' communities promoted the nonsense that Pope Francis was going to do away with sin!
So, it was clarified and ultimately in the secular media too!
The the secular media and once again the dissident traditionalists' communities, who are very shrill and paranoid, stated that Pope Francis would endorse homosexual unions, won't judge them and might embrace "civil unions' of the same sex!
Now the Vatican Press office clarifies this idiocy as well! And so does the secular press. It doesn't get better than this. It is almost like the RCIA process, generate discussion and some controversy only later to clarify and bring people along!
For the latest surreal clarification from the Vatican picked up by the secular media, Reuters in particular!
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Sunday denied Italian media reports that recent comments by Pope Francis signaled his openness to the legal recognition of same-sex unions in Italy.
Francis, in a conversation with leaders of religious orders published by a Jesuit journal on Friday, said the Catholic Church had to try not to scare away children who live in complex family situations, such as those whose parents were separated and those living with gay couples.
Francis gave the example of a little girl in Buenos Aires, his former diocese, who confided to her teacher the reason she was always sad was that "my mother's girlfriend doesn't like me".
The pope told the leaders of religious orders that a great challenge for the Church would be to reach out to children living in difficult or unorthodox domestic situations.
"The situation in which we live now provides us with new challenges which sometimes are difficult for us to understand," the pope said, according to the transcript of the conversation.
"How can we proclaim Christ to these boys and girls? How can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing? We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them," he said.
"MANIPULATION"
Italian media on Sunday ran headlines saying the pope's words were an opening to legal provision for civil unions for gay couples, a subject of debate in Italy.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio that media interpretations were "paradoxical" and a "manipulation" of the pope's words, particularly as some media quoted him as speaking specifically of homosexual unions, which he did not.
Lombardi said the pope was merely "alluding to the suffering of children" and not taking a stand on the political debate in Italy.
Since his election in March, however, the pope has avoided repeating the denunciations of homosexuality pronounced by his two immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Last month, The Advocate, the oldest gay rights magazine in the United States, named him 'Person of the Year'. It hailed as a landmark his response last July to a reporter who asked about gay people in the Church: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?"
The Vatican has stressed the pope's words did not change Church teachings that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are.
Still, the gay community and many heterosexuals in the Church have welcomed what they see as a shift in emphasis and a call for the Church to be more compassionate and less damning.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Sophie Hares)
8 comments:
The reasoning in this post is beyond belief. First point: what secular media is clarifying the pope's remarks? MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC have done this? I need to see proof. Jane Fonda still loves him and so does NARAL. Second: Traditional Catholic have a reason to have concerns about this pope from the things he has said. If not you wouldn't be trying to rationalize everything that he says or does......every single day. Third: so now we are to believe that the pope is manipulative of people in order to get a message across. That would make Francis an extremely immature and passive aggressive person, which he is not. How about this, he really means everything he says. And if we give him the benefit of the doubt that he is indeed a son of the church, he doesn't have the ability to convey his thoughts clearly. Maybe that's the problem. You go to great lengths to put a Catholic perspective on everything he does, and it is clearly getting more impossible to do. How long is it going to last? Everything he says needs clarification. Everything. Why, why does every single statement he makes need to be clarified by the Vatican to assure people that it is not against the teachings of the Faith. Are we to pretend this is normal?
Your question is exactly what I had wondered as well. However, I dont think it is a calculated strategy or plan. It is Pope Francis just being himself and part of that is to shake things up to focus on the Christs mercy and love and not on his admonitions. The world knows full well what the Catholic Church teaches in a number of areas, and Popes John Paul II and Benedict have articulated that beautifully and forcefully. Now Pope Francis, through the Holy Spirit is wanting to articulate the WHY and the WHO, Jesus Christ. It may be messy and confusing , but it serves an end. And those of us faithful and loyal, have to trust the Holy Spirit and not be fearful! The Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church has the ear of the world! Let us just pray that the fullness of the Gospel will sink into the hearts of the hard hearted, both non Catholic and Catholic alike! I trust that in time Pope Francis will touch the world when he speaks on the justice of God as much as he has when he has focused on the Mercy of God! And ALL Catholics should be willing and able to articulate both the Mercy and justice of God on all matters as we have been given extraordinary opportunity by the daily words of Pope Francis. He is not alone! WE all are called on to shake things up. And given that there are those who wish to interpret the Popes words to suit something other than Catholicism, those of us truly loyal to the teaching authority of the Church have all the more reason to be ready to give testimony to the truth! Intended or not, by the Pope or the Holy Spirit, we have been handed an incredible opportunity we may not see again for some time. Lets not squander it!
Um, Fr…No and no.
No, period. (Speaking precisely.))
Gee Father, you are realllly trying everyday to say the Pope meant this not that are you that fooled by him? We paranoid Traddies are not in the bloody least, give it up Father the jig is up.
I attended another First Methodist Catholic Church Sunday. It was awful, but I will not go into detail. My conclusion is that most Catholics are too ignorant to understand what has happened to the Church, and most Priests do not care and will just go with the flow. Most Priests clearly enjoy tweaking the Mass to suit them and they enjoy the self-expression that protestant reforms have given them. The Church is in dire straits, and the fact that there are a few Churches like St. Jo's, rather than encouraging me, makes me sad because this only highlights the depth of the problem.
But, there is nowhere else to go. The Catholic Church, doctrinally and theologically, is the true Church. That is why I left protestantism after a long struggle. But, it saddens me to see the Catholic Church making the same mistakes and going down the same road as protestantism. The degrading of the Liturgy and worship increases the danger and likelihood of a degrading of dogma. No one seems to want to look at that...
Jesuits are certainly sneaky in conversation.
I think he is, but not to trick anyone, but to stimulate thought. I like that but think it is dangerous as he is finding out. If he is truly surprised at how his words are being interpreted then he may need to be more measured in what he says.
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