The following is quoted in part from an article published on 21 October 2020 by the Catholic News Agency entitled Pope Francis calls for civil union law for same-sex couples, in shift from Vatican stance [1]:
In a documentary that premiered Wednesday in Rome, Pope Francis called for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples, departing from the position of the Vatican’s doctrinal office and the pope’s predecessors on the issue.
The remarks came amid a portion of the documentary that reflected on pastoral care for those who identify as LGBT.
“Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” Pope Francis said in the film, of his approach to pastoral care.
...
“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” the pope said. “I stood up for that.”
The remarks come in “Francesco,” a documentary on the life and ministry of Pope Francis which premiered Oct. 21[,2020] as part of the Rome Film Festival, and is set to make its North American premiere on Sunday[, 25 October 2020].
Some questions remain:
1. How is a marriage between a man and a woman different from a civil union for same-sex couples besides certain legal and ceremonial differences?
2. Is it ultimately only a difference in semantics?
3. When will the Catholic Church mention same-sex unions in the Catechism of the Catholic Church ("CCC")? To date, both CCC §1601 and §1660 focus only on marriage between a man and a woman, quoted below without references [2]:
1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.
1660 The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament.
4. Are same-sex couples required to live platonic lives in accordance with CCC §2357? The section is quoted below without references [3]:
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. [Emphasis added.]
The above section is unmistakenly alluded to by "the conservative bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, Thomas Tobin, [who] immediately called for clarification. 'The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the church about same-sex unions,' Tobin said in a statement. 'The church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.'" [4]
The Providence, Rhode Island, bishop ought to be reminded of such immoral relationships in the Catholic clergy that had taken place in the past and of those that are most likely still on-going. Hopefully, with this change, all gay the clergy men and women will come out of the proverbial "gay closet" and be counted as part of the Catholic hierarchy of which the bishop is an integral part.
There is speculation that the most outspoken clergymen against homosexuality, including popes and cardinals, are sexually repressed, deeply bitter and outwardly unforgiving homosexuals themselves. It is rumored that Benedict XVI could be gay.
The paragraphs below, quoted in part, are from an article in The New York Times published on 17 February 2019 entitled ‘It Is Not a Closet. It Is a Cage.’ Gay Catholic Priests Speak Out [5]:
Fewer than about 10 priests in the United States have dared to come out publicly. But gay men probably make up at least 30 to 40 percent of the American Catholic clergy, according to dozens of estimates from gay priests themselves and researchers. Some priests say the number is closer to 75 percent. One priest in Wisconsin said he assumed every priest was gay unless he knows for a fact he is not. A priest in Florida put it this way: “A third are gay, a third are straight and a third don’t know what the hell they are.”
...
Just over a year ago, after meeting with a group of gay priests, Father Greiten decided it was time to end his silence. At Sunday Mass, during Advent, he told his suburban parish he was gay, and celibate. They leapt to their feet in applause.
His story went viral. A 90-year-old priest called him to say he had lived his entire life in the closet and longed for the future to be different....
“What if every priest was truly allowed to live their life freely, openly, honestly?” [Father Greiten] asked. “That’s my dream.”
Today, Father Greiten's dream, and the future the 90-year old priest longed for, is a step closer toward a reality a distance away.
