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If you have followed my writing and speaking over the decades, you will know that Catholicism has not been a focus of my ministry, either praising it or criticizing it. At the same time, I recognize the important role of the Catholic Church in standing for the sanctity of life and the meaning of marriage. That’s what makes the recent pronouncement of Pope Francis, allowing priests to “bless” same-sex couples, especially distressing. What act of apostasy will be next?
My Catholic colleague John Zmirak wrote on Tuesday, “Today I got one of those emails nobody wants to receive. You know, the ones where a journalist informs you that the leader of your church has authoritatively endorsed grave, unrepented sin; mocked not just timeless and current church teaching but the natural law itself; and opened up faithful clergy to persecution by the State. And by the way, would you like to comment?” (Later in his article, Zmirak references “Pope Francis’ poisonous reign of error.”)
Specifically, quoting from the Washington Times,
“Pope Francis on Monday approved letting priests bless same-sex couples, sparking criticism from conservative Catholics and praise from the LGBTQ community.
“Such blessings would not rise to the level of church-sanctioned same-sex marriages, the Vatican cautioned, but would offer gay Catholics the opportunity to seek God’s mercy without being subjected to ‘an exhaustive moral analysis.’
“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the declaration, ‘Fiducia supplicans,’ with the pope’s approval but not his signature less than three months after a papal letter said such blessings were possible so long as they ‘do not transmit a wrong conception of marriage.’”
This is not just a step in the wrong direction. It is theological double-talk, spiritual drivel, and a mockery of the Word of God. Surely, faithful Catholics around the world will reject this apostate message. It has no support in Scripture, in divine morality, or in historic Church tradition, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant.
And so, rather than try to parse the theological nuances of the Pope’s statement, which in the end helps no one and harms many, let me be straightforward.
No priest or Pope or pastor or spiritual leader can bless something that God Himself does not bless. Their words are empty and void of divine power or authority. They are human utterances and nothing more.
As much as a gay couple may be in love, as much as they may revere the traditions of their Church (at least, some of the traditions), and as much as they may be models of kindness and loyalty, the fact is that male + male or female + female represents a fundamental violation of the meaning of marriage, not to mention a fundamental violation of the nature and purpose of humanity.
How then, can a priest bless a couple whose very relationship goes against the order and plan of God? And, speaking in particular of two gay men, how can a priest, representing the Lord, bless them when the Lord Himself deems their sexual relationship to be something detestable in His sight (Leviticus 18:22) and when Paul says that those who practice such things will be excluded from the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
You might say, “You fundamentalists are always attacking homosexuality. What about adultery? What about other kinds of sexual immorality? What about all you Bible-thumping Christians who are addicted to porn?”
But that’s the whole point.
If a Christian leader said, “We are now blessing couples living in adultery,” there would be outrage.
If that leader said, “We are now offering special blessings for all the couples living together out of wedlock,” there would be pushback.
If a church had a weekly porn night where after worship and prayer, the congregants would watch porn, it would set the internet ablaze.
But that is not happening, except perhaps in the case of divorces without biblical justification, followed by illegitimate marriages which are sometimes “blessed” by compromised clergy.
Otherwise, no major Church leaders are sanctioning adultery or fornication or pornography. But some are sanctioning same-sex unions (or, in more compromised settings, same-sex “marriages”). That is why we respond as we do.
It’s the same thing with LGBTQ+ activism in general.
That activism is affecting children in our nursery schools and young adults on our college campuses. It is everywhere in our society, from social media to the world of sports, and from TV and Hollywood to the business world.
We cannot avoid confronting LGBTQ+ activism and ideology wherever we turn, so we either push back with our own values or we cave in and capitulate.
It’s the same with the Pope’s ridiculous pronouncement. There must be a reply.
The fact that, “Such blessings would not rise to the level of church-sanctioned same-sex marriages” is meaningless.
The “blessings” would sanction something God does not sanction and give false assurances to the couples involved. And is there a gay Catholic on the planet who would not see this as another step in the direction of the ultimate goal, namely, the full acceptance of gay relationships by the Catholic Church?
As for the notion that these blessings were possible as long as they “do not transmit a wrong conception of marriage,” my response is short and sweet: Are you kidding me?
Really now, is the Pope telling us a gay couple can live together, can be emotionally and physically intimate, and can commit to lifelong faithfulness without transmitting a wrong conception of marriage? What is the big difference between the two – other than the obvious fact that two men or two women cannot marry in God’s sight?
In August, I addressed the Church of England’s decision to allow Anglican clergy to “bless” same-sex couples, yet another apostate step made by this rapidly declining faith group.
What will now happen with the Catholic Church?
That is for Catholics to answer, but without question, this could lead to a major rift of sorts, as the strong, conservative elements of the Church will reject this pronouncement outright, whatever the cost. The effects could be seismic. (As I noted in that August article, it is “progressive” Christianity that is dying; the real gospel is thriving.)
As for the gay Catholic couples who see this as a beacon of hope and a sign of the humanity and compassion of the Church, I don’t pretend to see the world through their eyes, and I don’t claim to understand the pain and the struggle they have endured.
I will just say this, with brokenness, not with triumphalism: I don’t doubt your love for each other. I don’t doubt that part of you really wants to honor the Lord. But I can only tell you the truth. God has a better way, and He never intended you to unite with someone of the same sex.
If you will lay your life before Him, surrendering fully to Jesus as Lord, He will forgive all your sins and give you a fresh new start. Cry out to Him today!
Can the pope overrule God? I don’t know. In 2020, the tongue-in-cheek “Babylon Bee” publication wrote a story headlined: “Ninth Circuit Court Overturns Death Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” Many didn’t view that assertion as absurd on its face, since USA Today proceeded to fact-check the claim. An extensive investigation found no evidence that Ginsburg had been resurrected from the dead. Can the pope overrule God? We won’t know until the matter has been thoroughly fact-checked by USA Today.
I will suggest this Pope, if not the Anti-Christ is at the very least anti Christ.
The satanic catholic fake church believes all authority from Heaven was passed through Peter to the Poop…
The satanic catholic fake church essentially believes God has retired and the Poop is christ on earth…
The satanic catholic fake church is satanic…
“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Yes … he believes in himself more than he does in God.
What is really sad, there are millions of wonderful They have no control of the Pope. The current Pope joined the Muslim Region to what the Catholics believe, and called it the Church of the world. This was, I think about first of this year. He is also the last Pope and has been predicted in 1100 AD by name, as the last Pope. Look Up the Last Pope prophecy. . We live in a very evil world now. I could give many examples…
What is really sad, there are millions of wonderful Catholic people. They have no control of the Pope. The current Pope joined the Muslim Region to what the Catholics believe, and called it the Church of the world. This was, I think about first of this year. He is also the last prophesied to be the last Pope and has been predicted in 1100 AD by name, as the last Pope. Look Up the Last Pope prophecy. . We live in a very evil world now. I could give many examples…
This Pope is a total imposter by far a fake Pope and the Vatican’s Blunder
This Pope isn’t on the same page as God. Communist queer anti Pope is what he is.
The globalists are using religion to help spread their agenda.
Not religion but fools who are of religious belief and distort the truth to their liking. Pope included.
Can the pope overrule God as to what to what God had written in the bible? No…..The pope and his priests are to spread the Word of God as to what is written in the bible not rewrite the bible…God does not make a mistake or misspoken what He had his people written in the bible…. The pope and priests may believe the pope is infallible as to how they voted back in the late 1800s believing the pope is infallible…
If the Pope is believed to be the heir of the apostle Peter, and therefore to wield apostolic authority to bind and loose, surely it would make sense to look at Peter’s actual practice in the New Testament, to see what the limits of that authority are. What we see on looking in the book of Acts is that whenever Peter appears to innovate, he does so in response to something that God does first, as with his acceptance of the Gentile household of Cornelius into the church. God has not done anything at all to indicate that the biblical veto on homosexual practice is open to negotiation.
Furthermore, given that Paul confronted Peter regarding the inconsistency of his subsequent behaviour in relation to Gentiles, it seems arguable that Peter’s primacy was chronological rather than hierarchical, and that anyone who is viewed as his successor should be willing to listen to other church leaders
The question which is “Can the Pope overrule God ?” The answer is definitely “No.”
The Pope can’t overrule God. Not even a little bit, not at.
Furthermore, The pope is called the “Vicar of Christ” meaning the “Substitute of Christ.” As a Roman Catholic school girl once said to me “Since Jesus isn’t here on earth the pope is here to take His place.” That statement is a claim. As the title of “the Vicar of Christ” also is a claim. The question is “Are those claims valid and true or invalid and false ?” Let the Light of the Bible reveal the truth. Jesus told His disciples that after he will leave them there will be Someone coming to take His place. That Someone was none other than the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit during the Church age will be indwelling in the hearts of all true Christians. The Holy Spirit is far superior to a pope or any physical man on earth. This is in accord to what Jesus had taught .As seen in John 7:39. 14:16, 17,25,25.
Therefore all the popes are pretenders, frauds and fakes. Third, his message is not keyboarded with intent to offend, disturb or upset. This message is mean to inform, enlighten and show the Bible based truth. As in with the keeping of the same spirit of the apostle Paul when he wrote the Christians of the Galatian Church when they had fallen into doctrinal errors and then the apostle Paul had written those Christians a letter of doctrinal corrected ,to inform, to enlighten and show them the truth. As Paul wrote “Am I therefore your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Galatians 4:16.
The definition of the name Peter is pebble, the rock, which is Jesus Christ is who the church is built upon.. The Catholic Church is pagan religion, to be sure there are Christians in the Catholic church only because they are part of the body of Christ not because they are members of the Catholic church.
Stop using the double speak language of the left. Homosexuals are not gay. Homosexuality is immoral, it is a sin, and it needs to be re-criminalized, as it still is in about 90 other countries today.
It is immoral, It is a sin. But it does not need to be recriminalized. Imagine putting them in prison with men. Not a good idea.
The term “gay” started in the 1960’s because those individuals were often perceived as happy when conversing with men. And yet their lives are typically not happy at all.
By the way, L’s are not gay. They’re angry, at men.
Some days I wonder if the Pope has ever read the Bible?
No, the Pope cannot overrule God. Francis set out to fundamentally change the Church, feeling that the faithful in the pews would blindly follow.
“Fundamentally change.” Now where have I heard that phrase before? Hmmm. . .
My guess is that fifties years from now Bergoglio will be recorded as the anti-Pope of the 21st century.
More likely the False Prophet
the bible is relete with a large number of accounts of “important people’ who made moves to rise up bove the God who hade them all. So far it has NOT gone well for any of them. One such guy was caught up in a tree by his vainglory head of hair. Others were swallowed up whole when the earth opened her mouth wide to take them down. Others fell to the ground and were eaten by worms. One such tyrant was forced to take his own sword to his own throat.. he who murdered Peter and Paul, and desperately wanted John the Apostle dead. They who doubted Gods clear promise were sentenced to wander another forty years in the wilderness, where they all died. And the Jewish mucketymucks of the First century AD who thought they WERE God were subjected to absolutely horrendous ends as the predicted Roman army overran their “pweshus” city Jerusalem, and stood by helplessly as the Romans tore apart their sacred temole and completely trashed the entire city of Jerusalem, leaving a desolate wasteland and the scorn of the rest of the world “See how the mighty have fellen”.
I would not be syrprised in the least to see this faux “head” of the Romish church meet some horrid fate, in plain view for all to see. Or that he be allowed to further the hoax of the pope as “vicar” of CHrist on earth. Jesus needs NO “vicar”, He is alive and well upon this earth and needs to help from some pompous overblown figurehead. Jueus IS the Head of His chruch. No man can fill His shoes.
What can we expect from a South American Marxist? He is God. He is the Truth. He is the Leader. We are his subjects. We shall obey him blindly, without question. He is not accountable to us. He is not accountable to God. What he does not know is that there is a very special place in Hell that awaits him.
Writing as an Orthodox Christian, the Pope “being able to overrule God” is more or less short-hand our critique of the Latin Papacy as it developed since the Latins set up on their own in the 11th century.
This pope is an anti-pope, We Catholics have fought heresies and anti-popes before. He will NOT prevail because he is NOT of God! Our church will prevail because truth always prevails over lies and evil. This pope is another in a long line of heretics. With God’s grace truth will prevail!
Your satanic catholic fake church teaches how you worship the fake god allah of satanic islam…
catholicism has never been a church… which is why satanism has prevailed over it…
At the United Nations in 2012 the Pope didn’t even mention Jesus, instead he talked glowingly about how much he admired the United Nations which is one of the most inept, biased, and corrupt organizations in the world. He also ended his speech with how the world would be transformed by the Mahdi. He focused on global warming and re-distribution of wealth.
Since Francis didn’t become pope until 2013, are you talking about Benedict or did you get the year wrong?
Typical of leftists. They believe they know better than anyone else on whatever topic. What is a bit shocking of Pope Pancho (we often use the nickname pancho/a for anyone named francisco) is his lack of humility. Humility the sacred trait of religions (except Islam) and the first step in achieving learning in this life.
I think the Pope needs to go back and read his Bible again. Unless he has written his own version. Shameful.
More and more people are leaving the Church and returning to God… Lenny Bruce.
Do you believe that the widespread adoption of artificial contraception had any role in the subversion of marriage, especially in the acceptance of same-sex marriage?
Jethro Tull,, the band, has a song entitled “My God”. Many felt it was anti-Christian, mocking Christianity in general. I, personally, think it was more a statement of disdain for the “organization” of Christianity by “locking him in his Golden Cage”. After all these years, after the song came out, it appears we have reached the point where the current pope has brought this into full view. He, the pope, has locked God away, imprisoned so to speak, not to be heard or believed unless sanctioned by the papacy. The song criticizes the way of men and their lust for power. Even in the church. All the rituals, the pomp and circumstance appear to be attempts to siphon off God’s supremacy to be used for the elevation of a particular set of men to wield the power for themselves. Please understand, I’m not knocking Catholicism. It just appears to me the hierarchy has done more to wall off God from the believers than they’ve done to draw them nearer.
In order to seek mercy, one must repent for their sins. So having a priest bless your union, but continuing to go against Church Doctrine is only a feel good solution and a waste of time.
Anyone here old enough to remember when the question “Is the Pope Catholic” was a rhetorical one?
There is only one Holy Father and that is the Creator of the Universe. Jesus refers to God in His farewell prayer with His disciples as “Holy Father.” Thus to call the pope Holy Father is to acknowledge him as God.
The Bible makes it clear that no one is to be worshipped except Almighty God.
The Pope takes the Title Vicar of Christ. Vicar means replacement. The True Vicar of Christ is the Holy Spirit, not the Pope.
Remember, Revelation 19:20 tells us the False Prophet is pictured as serving as the head of the worldwide religion that supports the rule of the Antichrist.
As a Jesuit priest Frances is particularly interested in bring the “separated brethren” back into the fold to be included under the umbrella of the Roman Catholic church. Apostasy is paving the way of the False Church,.
Matthew 15:8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.