Pope Francis reiterated that he is opposed to same-sex marriage, yet is okay with civil unions.
These comments were published in a series of interviews with Dominique Wolton, the French sociologist, in a new book.
Pope Francis said, "Marriage between people of the same sex? “Marriage” is a historical word… Always in humanity, and not only within the Church, it’s between a man and a woman…we cannot change that…This is the nature of things. This is how they are. Let’s call them “civil unions”.”
While Pope Francis has said, "Who am I to judge" in response to homosexuality, he still holds a very hostile view towards transgender individuals.
Admittedly, Pope Francis is quite progressive compared to pasts Popes. Also, when compared to evangelicals and the recently released “Nashville Statement” the Catholic church is leaps and bounds ahead of evangelicals. Yet, there are other churches out there that are fully affirming of the LGBT community.
Also, we know that marriage wasn’t always just between a man and a woman. When one looks at the Bible, there are instances of incest, polygamy, marriages caused because of rape. There were a lot of marriages that weren’t just between a man and a woman. This also goes for more than just the Bible, but ancient cultures as well. Each had it’s own rules for marriages, with many of them being arranged as well. As time has gone on, marriage has come into it’s own definition.
I think in this day an age, couples should be allowed the freedom to marry, get into a civil union, or enter into an consensual relationship they want, without other people trying to dictate how it works. While it is encouraging to see Pope Francis be okay with civil unions, it will be even better when the Pope provides a fully welcoming and affirming view for everyone in the LGBT community.
H/T: Gay Star News
The opinions in this article are those of the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of Instinct Magazine.
The pope and religions have
The pope and religions have no authority to dictate and monopolise marriage. Marriage is not a religious institution, it was not invented by any religion or god. Marriage has been around for thousands and thousands of years before all religions came to exist. Same sex unions existed all across the globe. So, the pope doesn't have the right to speak about marriage as if he had a special authority on it. By the way, he is single and only masturbates, it's ironic he feels so entitled to tell others who can marry and who cannot.