The supposedly liberal Pope Francis has once again affirmed marriage as being between a man and a woman. Francis has made similar affirmations multiple times throughout his pontificate and while he was Cardinal Bergoglio.
Speaking before an event for Catholic families this past weekend, the Pope lamented about “varied families” while emphasizing the importance of traditional marriage.
“It is painful to say this today: People speak of varied families, of various kinds of family [but] the family [as] man and woman in the image of God is the only one,” he said, according to ANSA News Agency.
Despite the headlines meant to confuse people, the Pope has consistently maintained Catholic teaching regarding traditional marriage and homosexuality throughout his tenure. In fact, just last month, Pope Francis went as far to warn the Italian Bishops about gay applicants seeking to join the priesthood and why they should not be allowed. His position followed that of Pope Benedict who emphasized that men “who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called ‘gay culture’” could be denied entry into the priesthood.
LGBTQ advocates for Catholic change have reacted strongly to the Pope’s comments over the weekend. We Are Church said it was “appalled and alarmed.”
“This reinforcement of anti-LGBTQI attitudes and the refusal to recognize LGBTQI families as true Catholic families by Pope Francis will be treated with incredulity and dismay by the Catholic faithful,” the Irish group said.
The group’s former president, Mary McAleese, said the Catholic Church needs to “stop hurting” LGBTQ people and become “a champion of complete diversity and inclusion.”
The weekend became one of strong rhetoric from Pope Francis as he went on to liken abortion of disabled children to Nazi crimes.
“In the last century, the entire world was scandalized by what the Nazis did to ensure the purity of the race,” he said. “Today we do the same, but with white gloves.”