What is your take on Pope's statement on same sex marriage?

It only matters to people who attribute authority to the Pope and they do this at their own devices. They are free to believe what they want. If they choose to be disappointed by an ancient policy that is only being reiterated by the present leader, it is up to them. They can always walk away from it. It’s only an institution—an institution that has less real governmental authority than your local chamber of commerce.

What was his statement?

I never pay attention to the holy men. I couldn’t be bothered with what they say in their desperate attempts to hold onto their power. I know that same sex marriage does not bother me and that everyone has the right to live as they wish.

I’m not Catholic so what he says means nothing to me, other than that it’s a shame that people actually try to live by what he says.

I remember in the 1980’s, he (diferent Pope then) went to Mexico and said that people should have many babies. Of course, that’s so that the Catholic population increases. Shortly after that, I went to Mexico and took a bus through the countryside. I saw people living in shanties made out of corrugated tin and plywood. I saw people of all ages, including children, standing in fields of garbage, picking for scraps of food and stuff. I thought “how could he in good conscience say that to people knowing how poor they are?”

Many Catholics don’t listen to him. They have abortions and use birth control, despite the Catholic church (meaning the pope) saying they should not.

I still don’t know what his statement is, but I really like this pope so far. I think he’s shaking Catholics up, big time, and it’s about time.

I just googled it and I see he says “no” to same sex marriage. Not surprising. He can’t be too revolutionary or he will alienate Catholics. He is a politician, after all.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-long-awaited-document-on-the-family-pope-francis-offers-hope-to-divorced-catholics-says-no-to-gay-marriage/2016/04/07/87be6dae-fb42-11e5-813a-90ab563f0dde_story.html
Washington post news.

It just blows my mind. I think the biggest reason some people are so against it is because they can’t get over the sexual aspects of a marriage. What do the do, lay in bed and night and fantasize about two same sex people getting it on? Is the rage against marriage some sort of guilt release because of those fantasies? What is the big deal?!

@Dutchess_III it’s because teh gayz can’t have children, and not having children is selfish

THAT IS SO DUMB!!!! lol!

Im don’t support it. But I’m not surprised. He’s a very dishonest man. Stopped trusting him a long time ago. Not much has changed in the Catholic Church over the last couple of years. Apar for he fact that they are losing followers.

New bumper sticker for the Vatican:

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Slightly More Powerful than Your Local Chamber of Commerce

@NerdyKeith Your latest post surprises me. From the article that @imrainmaker posted, it implies that the Pope is attempting plant seeds while moving the needle to an acceptance of homosexuality in a slow but methodical order.

Pope Francis comes across as fairly intelligent. He is effective when it comes to combining excellent leadership (strategic) with management (interpersonal) skills effectively and applying it to his role in the Roman Catholic Church.

The embracing and acceptance of homosexuality as a fact and not a sin is going to take a long time overcome. On this topic, religious beliefs have morphed over centuries from acceptance to distain and worse, persecution. It has warped by mistranslations, manipulative leaders and worse yet, zealots. Hopefully, it won’t take another couple of centuries to correct. To expect it to change within a few years is folly.

That anything “male” oriented ranges from accepted to “we’ll squint whilest thou partakes”
Anything “female” is shut down, kept down, and “don’t even thinketh to moveth up in our ranks within the organization. Apple-peddlers!”

@Pled_Pfeffer I don’t know what exactly is so surprising about my opinion of the pope. I don’t care that he is intelligent. His intelligence is irrelevant. My opposition to the pope is his inability to understand true equality, instead of this obvious discrimination disguised as wishy washy equality. The pope has made NO steps whatsoever to welcome LGBT to the Catholic community.

This idea at the Catholic Church will one day change, is never going to happen. They’ve been around for over 2,000 years and as far as I’m concerned it’s run out of time. The time to embrace equality is not in another century or even a decade, the time is now. It is clear the the pope has no intention of making the necessary changes to embrace actual equality within his church.

This is what the pope had to say in his report on “the family”:

“In discussing the dignity and mission of the family, the Synod Fathers observed that, as for proposals to place unions between homosexual persons on the same level as marriage, there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”

He also made comments stating that gay people should receive “assistance” to bring them back to normality .. ” I can only imagine what that might mean. He’s not only bigoted against homosexuals, he clearly lacks an understanding of them. There is no coming back to normality, we have no on and off switch.

Source

It is problematic for the Church because same sex marriage does not result in the creation of more Catholics.

Exactly what @SecondHandStoke. According to the Catholic church, we are supposed to procreate. That’s why the church has been traditionally so dead set against birth control.

Well, back when the earth had a population of 2, I can understand the directive. (Anybody wonder how they got to the generation after Cain and Able?)

I’m not Catholic, am really not sure what he said on the topic, but he, just like the rest of us, is entitled to have and express his opinion. Others have a right to agree or disagree.

@NerdyKeith Your stance is appreciated. In all honesty, I feel the same way that you do. Unfortunately, our opinions matter nothing unless more facts come to light, reach the Vatican and the people in charge acknowledge the truth.

Enough studies have been conducted to show that there are misinterpreted Bible sections. Then there are Bible versions that were changed to intentionally influence opinions on homosexuality in a negative manner. It took centuries to change this mindset. It’s going to take a long time for the Catholic Church to progressively move forward. The pope appears to be moving in the right direction cm by cm.