Catholic Leaders React To Francis' Support For Same-Sex Unions
Cardinal Napier, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Durban (Salt and Light Media/Youtube/Screenshot)
(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis made worldwide headlines Wednesday after official Vatican news outlets reported that the pontiff would appear in a soon-to-be-released documentary on his life, titled Francesco.
A clip from the documentary shows Pope Francis expressing support for same-sex civil unions.
“Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family,” the pope says in the clip. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”
“What we have to create is a civil union law,” he adds. “That way they are legally covered.”
The news saw celebration from the press, Catholics and non-Catholics worldwide, as well as dismay and silence.
Father James Martin, an American Jesuit priest and popular advocate for LGBTQ reforms in the church, was among the first Catholic leaders to praise Pope Francis, calling his statement “historic.”
“What makes Pope Francis comments supporting same-sex civil unions today so momentous? First, he is saying them as Pope, not Archbishop of Buenos Aires,” Martin said on Twitter. “Second, he is clearly supporting, not simply tolerating, civil unions. Third, he is saying it on camera, not privately. Historic.”
Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City also praised Pope Francis but said that the new comments were “most likely” not a change in Church teaching.
“I respect and esteem Pope Francis and I know he often expresses pastoral concerns for all people, especially the marginalized,” Archbishop Coakley wrote. He also said on Twitter, “It is important to understand his comments about civil unions are most likely in the context of these pastoral concerns and are not a change in the truth or teaching of the Catholic Church, which recognizes the dignity of marriage as between a man and a woman as constituted by the Creator and affirmed by Scripture and natural law throughout history.”
The Catholic Church believes in the concept of papal infallibility — the capacity for the Pope of Rome to speak definitively on matters of faith and morals in a way that all Catholics must unquestioningly accept. However, this infallibility is limited to statements that the pope makes ex cathedra, or "from the Chair of Saint Peter." This means that the pope is invoking his ultimate authority, and it’s exceptionally rare.
The pope’s statements on civil unions seem to run directly in contradiction with the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith — the normal definitive instructing body on Catholic belief, theology and social teaching.
According to the Congregation’s document Considerations Regarding Proposals To Give Legal Protections To Unions Between Homosexual Persons:
“The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society.”
The document states that the institution of homosexual or same-sex marriage or implementation of civil unions intended to replace or be held in tandem with the historic definition of marriage would cause confusion and approve of “deviant” behavior, saying:
“Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity.”
The text goes on to explicitly state that cooperation with any initiative to implement these unions is to be avoided:
“One must refrain from any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws and, as far as possible, from material cooperation on the level of their application.”
The disoriented juxtaposition of this teaching with the comments of Pope Francis was not lost on Catholic leaders worldwide, who expressed concern, confusion and anger in response to the comments.
“Unfortunately, supporting the legal recognition of any kind of same-sex union is contrary to Church teaching,” wrote Ed Mechmann, an official spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York.
Mechmann stressed that while the pope’s remarks were inherently wrong, they did not carry with them any inherent authority as the pontiff.
“Informal comments during an airplane news conference, or remarks to documentary film-makers, are clearly not formal exercises of the Pope’s teaching authority,” Mechmann wrote on the official website of the Archdiocese of New York.
Mechmann went on to explain the difference between respect for the papacy and absolute obedience outside of infallible statements.
“While we are always bound to respect the Holy Father and his statements, we are not bound to accept as infallible every word that comes from his mouth,” said Mechmann. “These are subject to all the ordinary human fallibilities – ambiguity, incompleteness, and even outright error.”
He added, “And that’s what happened here. The Pope said something that was incorrect.”
Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence wrote a short but critical response in regards to the news, saying that the pontiff’s words could not be left without a follow-up statement.
“The Holy Father’s apparent support for the recognition of civil unions for same-sex couples needs to be clarified,” wrote Bishop Tobin.
Tobin said that though individuals with same-sex attraction are “beloved children of God,” support or endorsement of same-sex couples in any legal capacity was outside the teachings of the Catholic Church, and the legalization of their civil unions simulates heterosexual, “holy” marriage, and is “not admissible.”
“The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions. The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships,” the bishop wrote. “Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human rights and civil rights recognized and protected by law.”
Bishop Joseph Edward Strickland of Tyler, Tex. took to Twitter to post an excerpt from the contradictory document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. He stopped short of actively criticizing Pope Francis or directly addressing the controversy. He also has not written anything pertaining to the matter on his blog.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Vigano, a long-time critic of Pope Francis and a controversial figure in Catholic circles for his increasingly hostile rhetoric towards the Vatican establishment, grilled the pope in a column for Life Site News.
“One does not have to be a theologian or a moral expert to know that such statements are totally heterodox and constitute a very serious cause of scandal for the faithful,” Vigano said.
Archbishop Vigano went on to accuse the pope of intentionally causing unrest over perceived heretical statements, stating that the pope was attempting to force conservative Catholic higher-ups into a schism.
The archbishop notably referred to Pope Francis by his birth name, an intentional signal of disrespect for the sovereign pontiff.
“Jorge Mario Bergoglio is trying to force some Cardinals and Bishops to separate themselves from communion with him, obtaining as a result not his own deposition for heresy but rather the expulsion of Catholics who want to remain faithful to the perennial Magisterium of the Church, Vigano wrote.
Vigano has been warning about the corruption of the Vatican for years now. He ended his statement on the tone most common to his writings on the Church — doom and gloom — and explicitly accused the pope of siding with the devil.
“As Catholics, we are called to side with those who defend life, the natural family, and national sovereignty,” he wrote. “We thought that we had the Vicar of Christ at our side. We painfully acknowledge that, in this epochal clash, he who ought to be guiding the Barque of Peter has chosen to side with the Enemy, in order to sink it.”
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a prominent traditionalist Catholic leader, released a statement Thursday criticizing the confusion caused by the pope’s remarks.
“Such declarations generate great bewilderment and cause confusion and error among Catholic faithful,” Burke wrote, “inasmuch as they are contrary to the teaching of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and of the recent Magisterium by which the Church guards, protects and interprets the whole deposit of faith contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.”
Cardinal Burke lamented the inconsistency of Pope Francis’s remarks and the established teachings of the Church, warning that the media coverage of these latest statements could give the wrong impression of the Catholic faith.
“It is a source of deepest sadness and pressing pastoral concern that the private opinions reported with so much emphasis by the press and attributed to Pope Francis do not correspond to the constant teaching of the Church, as it is expressed in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and is guarded, protected and interpreted by the Magisterium.”
Cardinal Burke continued, “Equally sad and concerning is the turmoil, confusion, and error they cause among the Catholic faithful, as is the scandal they cause, in general, by giving the totally false impression that the Catholic Church has had a change of course, that is, has changed its perennial teaching regarding such fundamental and critical questions.”
Fr. Martin, in response to suggestions that the pope’s statements have not strayed far from his previous positions and will not cause much change, said that the biggest impact will be felt outside America and in non-Western European countries.
“For those who think the Pope's comments about same-sex civil unions are no big deal: Perhaps in the US or Western Europe,” Martin said. “But in places like Poland, where some bishops are virulently anti-LGBT; or Uganda, where bishops side with laws criminalizing homosexuality, it's a big deal.”
Cardinal Napier of the Diocese of Durban in South Africa then criticized Fr. Martin for his words against African clergy, saying, “What a shame to see an American priest passing judgement on African Bishops!”
Many bishops and cardinals have not yet made statements regarding the pope’s comments. Most notably, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, often seen as one of the most prominent Catholic clergymen in the U.S.
Dolan has previously spoken at presidential inaugurations, political conventions, and has even been named by the press as a “papabile” — a cardinal in position to perhaps succeed to the papacy.
Dolan, despite the statement put out by New York Archdiocese spokesman Ed Mechmann, has not publicly commented on the pope’s statements.
Religion Unplugged reached out to Dolan for comment, but his office did not respond in time for publication.
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer and editor from northeastern Pennsylvania. He covers religious issues with a focus on the Catholic Church and Japanese society and culture.