It doesn't matter what you think Pope.

[Brian37]

Not the point. Holy people only have the power followers give them. The "not blessing" is basically passive aggressive emotional blackmail. He doesn't have to have any legal power, but he does have power over people who buy his crap.

Oh. please do shut up.

The Pope is selling condemnation of our fellow human beings by hiding behind the word "sin". 

If one values the rights of LGBT, and one accepts he has influence over those who follow him, then he does have the power to negatively affect the lives of innocent people.

I have absolutely no compunction, or reservations in calling this bullshit out. He has only the power followers give him.

The reality is that LGBT are not obligated bow to his insecurities. FYI, liberal Catholic churches exist too, and the Vatican has absolutely no power over those churches. 

There is absolutely no reason for the Pope to make such proclamations unless he was trying to influence his followers into being discriminatory. 

Huge difference between legal power, and actual power. He has influence sure, people follow him sure. 

The truth is the Pope neither has legal, or even religious authority over LGBT. Religious objections to same sex relationships are merely bullshit superstitions, and amount to hiding behind religion when the reality is they claimant merely finds it "yucky".

FYI sure this post was about the Vatican, but most of the world outside the west frowns on same sex relationships. In Saudi Arabia and Iran, one can be arrested for such behaviors, and or murdered by the state or a mob. 

The Vatican to me, are half assed bigots. I am glad they are.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The Pope is not saying what the laws are. He isn’t even saying gay Catholics can’t be married. He’s saying the Church will not bless such unions. Put another way, he’s saying that if you’re gay, you cannot be married by a Catholic priest in a Catholic chapel under the auspices of the Catholic Church.

And the Vatican absolutely DOES have that authority.

Boru

Not the point. Holy people only have the power followers give them. The "not blessing" is basically passive aggressive emotional blackmail. He doesn't have to have any legal power, but he does have power over people who buy his crap.

How can it not be the point when it’s EXACTLY the point you made?

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

Typical Christian bullshit

[Gwaithmir]

I once had some respect for Pope Francis as a reformer, but that respect has since worn rather thin. 

[Fake Messiah]

Apparently, John Elton is baffled by the Vatican:

“How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they ‘are sin,’ yet happily make a profit from investing millions in ‘Rocketman’ — a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David?” John asked his followers.

As The Daily Beast reported in 2019, the Vatican had “a $4.5 million expenditure recorded in February related to finance for the 2019 films ‘Men in Black: International’ and Elton John’s rather steamy biopic ‘Rocketman,’ which is the first studio movie to portray gay sex between men in an authentic way.” 

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/03/elton-...23795/amp/

Well, John, business is business.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The Church cannot bless sin!

They can, however, transfer it to another parish.

Boru

[Divinity]

Wait, so if God can't 'bless sin' that means there's something God can't do. Guess he's not so fucking omnipotent after all. Just impotent.

[Brian37]

Wait, so if God can't 'bless sin' that means there's something God can't do.  Guess he's not so fucking omnipotent after all.  Just impotent.

To be somewhat fair, Yoda can't do shit either.

[Fake Messiah]

Catholic church's hate for gay people, women, and everyone else who is not an impotent old white Catholic man is really deep

Catholic church opposed suicide hotline because it included support for LGBTQ people

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops quietly lobbied behind the scenes against the creation of the National Suicide Hotline in 2019 because it included specific support for LGBTQ people.

The group of church leaders also opposes the Violence Against Woman Act for the same reason.

The men also refuse to consider providing broader public accommodations protections for women, people of color, and the disabled that would be included in the Equality Act because the bill would provide nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

The Equality Act would be a “violation of precious rights to life and conscience,” they say. New York Cardinal Timothy Nolan described the bill as “ill-named” and said it would “chip away at religious freedom.” 

But the bishops are only strengthening public suspicions that they aren’t trying to protect religious beliefs as much as they seek a license for religious people to discriminate against LGBTQ people with impunity, declaring them above the law.

The Equality Act would amend federal civil rights law to include prohibitions for discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/03/cath...tq-people/

[Fake Messiah]

What do you know, there's a little rebellion happening inside of the Catholic Church, but only in Austria and Germany

The Catholic church of the parish of Hard is one of many in Austria which decided to fly the rainbow flag in solidarity with the LGBT community after the Vatican ruled last month that the Church couldn't bless same-sex partnerships.

Hard's parish priest Erich Baldauf says he and the hundreds of other clergy who belong to the reform-oriented "Priests' Initiative" movement decided to fly the flag to show "that we do not agree with this outdated position", with many other churches also making the gesture. Soon after the rainbow flag in Hard was put up, there was an attempt to damage it, and last Tuesday Baldauf was saddened to discover that it had been burnt.

Contrary to the impression that these incidents may give, surveys show that Austrian public opinion is firmly on the side of equal treatment for same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Austria since 2019 and a survey last week found that a full 64 per cent of Austrians opposed the Vatican's recent decision. A mere 13 per cent said they could understand the Vatican's stance.

Experts say differences between Austrian social attitudes and Church teaching on issues such as homosexuality and abortion contribute to tens of thousands choosing to leave the Church each year.

It's not just the explicitly reform-oriented Priests' Initiative who have spoken out on the CDF ruling. No less a figure than the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, said he was "not happy" with the Vatican's pronouncement.

"The message that went out via the media to the whole world was a simple 'no' and in fact a 'no' to blessing, which is something that hurts many people to their core," he explained to the Catholic newspaper Der Sonntag.

The unhappiness has found an echo among Germany's Catholics, with priests using a hashtag calling for "disobedience" online. While some prominent German bishops have supported the Vatican's stance, others accused the CDF of seeking to stifle theological debates which have been active among German Catholics in recent years.

A German petition calling for the CDF's ruling to be ignored has been signed by 2,600 priests and deacons, as well as 277 theologians. The reaction in Germany and Austria speaks to broader global fault lines on social issues between socially conservative and liberal congregations.

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europ...essing-ban