Thursday, February 1, 2024

CAN THE POPE BE TRUSTED?

Let’s rewind back to March 2021.  The Associated Press published an article saying that the Vatican, under the authority of Pope Francis, issued a formal response to the question of whether the Catholic Church could bless gay unions.  And the answer, according to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in a two page explanation published in seven different languages, was that the Catholic Church COULD NOT bless the unions of two men or two women because “God cannot bless sin.”  See here:

https://apnews.com/article/vatican-decree-same-sex-unions-cannot-bless-sin-077944750c975313ad253328e4cf7443

Of course, those pushing the LGBT agenda were disappointed, while many staunch Catholics were pleased.  But this has been the official long-standing teaching of the Catholic Church since the beginning.

Ok, fast forward to December 18, 2023, when this same pope did a complete turnabout and made another formal declaration allowing Catholic priests to now bless same-sex unions!  The Associated Press calls it a “radical change in Vatican policy,” and so it is.  The article said that the pope’s reasoning was that people seeking God’s love and mercy should not be subject to “exhaustive moral analysis.” 

Well, that may be true, but the real analysis should be focused, in this case, on the pope and his complete reversal of his previous formal declaration.  In two short years, Pope Francis’ view changed from “God cannot bless sin” to “God does indeed bless sin.”

So, can one formal Catholic declaration nullify another formal Catholic declaration only two years later?  It certainly seems so.

But in an attempt to do damage control, the pope said that this ritual of blessing such couples was not to be confused with the sacrament of marriage.  See here:

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/pope-says-priests-can-bless-sex-couples-radical-change-vatican-policy-rcna130236

It appears that this new document offers an “extensive definition” of the term “blessing” in Scripture.  Yes, as is often the case, the Catholic Church is playing fast and loose with certain biblical terms.   Apparently, it is now ok to bless perverted and unbiblical lifestyles.  But is the Church also willing to bless murderers, whoremongers and slave traders (1 Timothy 1:9-10) in their chosen lifestyle?  How about blessing the lives of idolaters, thieves, drunkards and swindlers (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)?  If not, then why not?  Aren’t these offenders listed together in the Bible with homosexuals?  Yes, indeed (read the two Scripture passages I just quoted above).  So, if one of these lifestyles is wrong, they are all wrong!  Let’s be biblically consistent. 

But it seems that being consistent with Scripture is not high on the list of the pope’s agenda.

What is His Agenda?

So how does this work?  From the Catholic Church’s standpoint, does this mean that the priest can now encourage and even bless the union of a gay couple, but it is not ok to bless them in marriage?  But why bless a homosexual “union” at all, if you are not willing to go all the way?  It’s either right in the eyes of God… or it’s not.  The pope needs to choose one and stick with that choice. 

But blessing these unions in any way is an approval, an acceptance, of their ungodly behavior.  The pope, because he knows it is very controversial, is not fully accepting homosexual marriages at this time.  Francis should show the world what he really believes.  The question is, will he side with the God of the Bible or will he refuse to because of some global agenda? 

This is just an incremental game he’s playing.  It is pretty obvious to me that the pope will indeed cave in somewhere down the line and eventually allow such “marriages.”  It’s just a matter of time.  When the winds of change are strong enough, and he convinces enough people, I believe the pope will reject the Scriptures and justify homosexual marriages.  But I am certainly glad that many Catholics are standing against the pope on this issue.

He wants to embrace the idea so that he can appease one group, and yet he is distancing himself from it to appease another group.  He is trying to please both sides.  As they say, he wants to have his cake and eat it, too.  But either way, this “cake” will cause his downfall, either in the eyes of God, or in the eyes of the LGBT crowd.

A few months ago, I posted an article addressing the pope’s views on homosexuality and dealt with it in more detail.  See here:

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-pope-on-homosexuality.html

How to Actually Handle This Sin

In another NBC News article on this topic, the pope is quoted to have said, “We cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.”  See here:

Pope Francis signals he's open to blessings for same-sex unions by Catholic priests (nbcnews.com)

If you’ll notice, people who are constantly trying to justify their sins will often say things like what the pope said just above.  They will quote Matthew 7:1“Judge not, that ye be not judged,” and say, “See!  Jesus, Himself, says you can’t judge me!” 

But while it is true that Christians should not just alienate and exclude people for selfish reasons, it is right to exclude them for biblical reasons.  It is also true that Jesus commanded us to judge people, i.e., to be fruit inspectors.  Yes, judging rightly (John 7:24) is indeed a biblical mandate.  

Furthermore, Jesus commanded us to treat those in the church WHO REFUSE TO REPENT OF THEIR SIN as outcasts (Matthew 18:15-17), including the sin of homosexuality.  But this alienation is only exercised by the church after first trying to reconcile them to God.  They must first point out the offender’s sin.  And if he refuses to confess his sin, they should approach him with witnesses, and if he still refuses to listen, he must be brought before the church (the local assembly).  And if he’s still unrepentant, he should be excommunicated for his refusal to turn from his sin, and the whole local assembly is obligated to treat this person as an outsider (unless and until he repents).  If the Catholic Church (or any church) wants to be biblical about this, they would confront homosexuals about their open sinful lifestyle in the manner prescribed by Jesus in Matthew 18.

Just Being Respectful?

Trying to excuse the pope’s action, some say that Francis, up to now, held back on his present view out of respect to honor his predecessor (Benedict XVI), who was more conservative.  But since Benedict XVI is now dead, the new pope can move in the direction he sees fit.

See here:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/12/pope-francis-same-sex-relationships-blessing-backstory.html

Whether that’s true or not is pretty much irrelevant.  If Francis is really concerned about honoring his more conservative predecessor, he would maintain the previous pope’s ideals.  But because he hasn’t, I think that this is just an excuse and that he really doesn’t care what Pope Benedict XVI believed.  Remember, he has an agenda to follow.

Repent While There is Time

At the beginning of this article, Francis was quoted as saying, “People seeking God’s love and mercy should not be subject to ‘exhaustive moral analysis.’” 

Two things I want to address here.  First, the pope is assuming that those in a gay union are seeking God’s love and mercy.  But the simple truth is that if someone really wants to seek God, he will humbly recognize his sin (from the Scriptures) and turn away from it.  If he really wants God’s love and mercy, he will abandon his sinful lifestyle.  But if he refuses to do this, then this just proves that he is really not concerned about seeking God at all.  He just wants God’s love and blessings, but refuses to get it on God’s terms. 

He, like the pope, wants to have his cake and eat it, too.  He wants to do whatever his sinful heart desires, but also have God’s approval in doing it.  But the truth is the acceptance that gays so desperately desire will never be found apart from God’s way of doing things.

Secondly, it is true that no one can prevail in an “exhaustive moral analysis.”  We are all sinners (whether homosexual or heterosexual) and we all deserve Hell.  We all fail the test when analyzed.  And yes, as humans, we should not analyze someone simply to throw his sin in his face, or to be “holier than thou.”

The reason we point out someone’s sin should be out of compassion (Jude 1:20-23) and to make him aware of the danger – so that he can repent and ultimately avoid the Lake of Fire.  Pointing out sin (in the right spirit) is actually an act of love.  I understand that it is never pleasant when someone points out a person’s sin and it may be easy to get offended.  But it is better to be offended now and end up in Heaven than to pacify your feelings now, and later suffer an eternity apart from God (Revelation 20:11-15).

Conclusion

To all those who are in the LGBT camp, this pope is not doing you any favors by promoting this lifestyle.  There are so many supporters of gay rights out there who are more concerned with your present feelings than with your eternity.  If I didn’t care, I’d remain silent and never talk about it.  But this lifestyle of unrepentant homosexuality is indeed spiritually dangerous and will draw you away from God… just like the unrepentant heterosexual can be drawn away by his own lusts, as well.  Both end up in Hell. (1 Corinthians 6:9)

So, can Pope Francis be trusted?  Is it ok for a man of such power and influence to formally make two absolutely contradictory Church declarations? Does this “Vicar of Christ” really care for your soul?  I will leave you to ponder these questions.