Confused about the Pope’s thoughts on gay rights? No wonder

[joeybee12]

Some American liberals were prepared to claim Pope Francis as one of their own after his hugely successful visit to the US last week. But the pope’s left-leaning image was shattered when it was revealed that the Pontiff met with Kim Davis, a county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

News of the meeting stirred confusion over the pope’s attitude toward gay marriage. A battle of press releases between the Vatican and Davis’s lawyer—each seeking to portray a different interpretation of the meeting—only muddied the waters more.
As the country continues to debate whether the pope’s stance on gay marriage is more or less progressive based on recent events, it’s worth mulling over a timeline of some of his most noteworthy comments on the subject, including the breakdown of events over the past few days.

2010: He comments positively on civil unions. When Argentina was debating legalizing gay marriage, Pope Francis reportedly proposed civil unions as an alternative option. “We believe that we must propose more comprehensive civil union rights than currently exist, but no gay marriage,” Pope Francis’s then spokesman, Federico Wals, told Argentina’s Infonews. Argentine bishops did not endorse the idea.

June 22, 2010: He opposes gay marriage and adoption. In a letter to the Carmelite Nuns of Buenos Aires in 2010 (pdf), Pope Francis made his opposition to gay marriage extremely clear. He called the political movement “the destructive attempt toward God’s plan,” and “the envy of the Devil.” He also said that gay adoption is a form of discrimination against children: “At stake are the lives of so many children who will be discriminated against in advance, depriving them of the human maturation that God wanted to be given with a father and a mother.”

http://qz.com/516655/confused-about-the-popes-thoughts-on-gay-rights-no-wonder/?utm_source=YPL

Interesting that Davis' lawyer is now saying the Vatican "clarification" about the meeting is wrong...he says it was a private one with no one else but the Pope, her and security...personally, I don't believe either version.

[NonMetro]

1. There Is Also Letter 38' linked below, with more info:

http://insidethevatican.com/news/letter-38-2015-kim-and-francis

The plot thickens?

[zalinda]

2. I doubt very much

that this 'meeting' took place. No pictures? If I was meeting the pope, you bet there would be at least a selfie. I think there is a vested interest in some people to say that this 'meeting' took place.

The thing that is telling for me, is the phrase "stay strong", I believe that saying is an Americanism. I cannot imagine the pope saying anything like that as English is not his first language.

I believe she and her husband was put in a receiving line, so they could say that she had the support of the pope. This was purely political.

Z

[Bluenorthwest]

3. And yet this one did, and it is a convening much worse than an audience with Kim Davis

I keep posting the link, Francis fans don't tend to respond, Tony Perkins of Family Research Council was invited, loved it, called it 'almost euphoric' and Francis was the keynote speaker.
I'd love to here your thoughts. Forget Kim. Explain all of this:
"Vatican Strengthens Ties with Evangelicals and Mormons Against Gay Marriage"
http://time.com/3597245/vatican-evangelicals-mormons-gay-marriage/

[zalinda]

5. Here is the quote that I looked for

"Pope Francis did not spearhead the colloquium, as many casual observers might think. It was organized and led by German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a strong conservative voice at the Pope’s Synod on the Family last month. Müller is the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican group that sponsored the event. Still, Pope Francis gave an opening address to attendees, in which he affirmed the Church’s teaching that children have a right to a mother and a father."

This is one of the people that he has to deal with. From what he has said in the past, he has been trying to down play the LGBT objections in the church. He gave the opening address, which doesn't mean he participated in the discussion. Like I said before, I am willing to cut him some slack, because he is doing a lot of good for the entire world, and planet. He has a very fine line to walk between the liberals and rabid conservatives in the church, to get things done. That he didn't get as much blow back as expected from his encyclical was amazing.

Apparently, the pope does not equal the Vatican and the Vatican does not equal the pope. He IS changing things, but there is a lot more to be changed. He is a welcome change from the old pope. As for me, I can't see what people see in religion, but everyone has their own opinion.

Z

[rjsquirrel]

4. I'm not confused

I know he's a bigot on a PR campaign.

Screw the pope. There is no god, therefore it's all theatrical bullshit. It doesn't surprise me that the chief clown is playing to the groundlings after a really bad run for his circus show.


The fawning US media made it easy. Then he went and kissed a succubus when he thought no one was watching.