Pope Francis has defended his controversial decision to let priests bless same-sex couples but admitted that “solitude is a price you have to pay” when you make difficult decisions.
Francis doubled down and insisted that the “Lord blesses everyone,” during a Sunday interview with an Italian talk show. But he acknowledged the remarkable opposition his decision has sparked — Africa’s bishops have united in a continent-wide refusal to implement the Vatican declaration and individual bishops in Eastern Europe, Latin America and elsewhere have also voiced opposition.
Vatican’s Dec. 18 declaration restated traditional church teaching that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman. But it allowed priests to offer spontaneous, non-liturgical blessings to same-sex couples seeking God’s grace in their lives, provided such blessings aren’t confused with the rites and rituals of a wedding.
During an appearance on “Che Tempo Che Fa,” Frances acknowledged, in his first comments since the uproar, the “resistance” the decision has generated. He blamed it on bishops not really understanding the issue and refusing to open a dialogue about it.
As a gay atheist, I love this Pope.
No, I wouldn’t invite him to dinner anytime soon, but the man has very, very clearly been moving things in the right direction as much as he can, which is no small task, given the generations of cultural and historical gunk that weighs down this particular institution from any change. He has my respect for trying.
He’s effectively the captain of a massively oversized ship, and he’s bringing it around as fast as she’s able to move without capsizing or breaking apart.
Honestly, I’d love to have dinner with him. I think he has the same failings as other popes regarding the most important problem with the church (imo, even the failing attendance is probably related to the fact that priests have been molesting children for centuries with impunity) and he fucked up Zika, badly, but in the other areas he’s great.