Meditation 1319
All hot air
by: John Tyrrell
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There was a disgraceful puff piece on Pope Francis in the Huffington Post this week. The writer claimed:
The pontiff’s crusade to foster an open and inclusive church has found him reaching out to atheists, relaxing church rules on divorce, and even apologizing to the world’s gay community on behalf of the entire church.
Say what?
OK - Pope Francis said atheists can be good and can be redeemed; but he's done nothing to change Catholic teachings that non-Catholics are damned.
Pope Francis said the Catholic Church should be more understanding towards the divorced, but left implementation up to local bishops. He's not changed policy. Consequently, we see, for example, Archbishop Charles Chaput, head of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia (city of brotherly love) decreeing that effective 1 July divorced and remarried Catholics can only receive Holy Communion only if they live chastely... as long as they abstain from sex and live out their relationships like “brother and sister”. (I guess Archbishop Chaput is unfamiliar with incest.)
Pope Francis most assuredly did not apologize to the world's gay community. Rather he said the church should apologize. Then he did absolutely nothing. No apology. No policy changes. No teaching changes. And the campaign by the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of the Catholic Church to fight legalization of same-sex marriage worldwide continues unabated. And where homosexuality remains a crime, the campaign by the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of the Catholic Church to fight legalization of homosexuality continues unabated.
Don't look at what Pope Francis says. It is meaningless. It is all hot air. Look at what he actually does to follow up on his statements. SFA sums it up.
The Pope's plan to change the church is summed up in what he plans to do with those senior clergy who don't listen to what he says:
“You set them aside to rest when they reach retirement age.”
Pope Francis is 79. Archbishop Chaput is 72. Who's going to be around longer?
Some plan, Francis! It saves him from actually doing something.
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