The message was very clear to everyone who refuse to be blind and deaf. The Catholic Church and its leader, Pope Francis, are against same-sex marriage.
In a speech delivered to thousands of devotees and heard by millions of Filipinos, Pope Francis made no qualms about his opposition to efforts by a small portion of the population to push for same-sex marriage. The remarks delivered at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena on 16 January 2015 were the the most direct and progressive message that Pope Francis delivered on the subject since he ascended to the Papacy in March 2013.
Not only did Francis speak of the need to uphold and protect "traditional marriage", criticizing attempts to redefine it, he also warned against an "ideological colonization of the family," a reference to gay marriage around the world.
However, the words that had received the resounding support are these:
In November, Francis commented that the heterosexual binary of marriage is "an anthropological fact ... that cannot be qualified based on ideological notions or concepts important only at one time in history."
Francis’ statement in the Philippines follows his remarks less than a week ago in which he criticized "legislation which benefits various forms of cohabitation rather than adequately supporting the family for the welfare of society as a whole." In Francis’ eyes, this type of legislation marks the family as being "disposable."
For those who still doubt the sincerity of Pope Francis to stamp out the liberal stand on homosexuality and gay marriage, don't. The Pope may ask for kindness to the LGBTs, but it does not mean he approves of their lifestyle. The Pope’s most recent statements are aimed at shutting down any speculation that he, and by extension the Vatican, is considering a dramatic change in dogma when it comes to sexual relations between people of the same gender.
(Photo credits to ABS-CBNNews.com)
In a speech delivered to thousands of devotees and heard by millions of Filipinos, Pope Francis made no qualms about his opposition to efforts by a small portion of the population to push for same-sex marriage. The remarks delivered at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena on 16 January 2015 were the the most direct and progressive message that Pope Francis delivered on the subject since he ascended to the Papacy in March 2013.
Not only did Francis speak of the need to uphold and protect "traditional marriage", criticizing attempts to redefine it, he also warned against an "ideological colonization of the family," a reference to gay marriage around the world.
However, the words that had received the resounding support are these:
"The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life."And in case some lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) groups want to divert the meaning of these words, a Vatican spokesman confirmed that, at least in part, the pope had gay marriage in mind.
In November, Francis commented that the heterosexual binary of marriage is "an anthropological fact ... that cannot be qualified based on ideological notions or concepts important only at one time in history."
Francis’ statement in the Philippines follows his remarks less than a week ago in which he criticized "legislation which benefits various forms of cohabitation rather than adequately supporting the family for the welfare of society as a whole." In Francis’ eyes, this type of legislation marks the family as being "disposable."
For those who still doubt the sincerity of Pope Francis to stamp out the liberal stand on homosexuality and gay marriage, don't. The Pope may ask for kindness to the LGBTs, but it does not mean he approves of their lifestyle. The Pope’s most recent statements are aimed at shutting down any speculation that he, and by extension the Vatican, is considering a dramatic change in dogma when it comes to sexual relations between people of the same gender.
(Photo credits to ABS-CBNNews.com)