After all the sexual predator era disasters the Catholic Church is being forced to enter an even more serious minefield–gay rights. The Church has always condemned the gay lifestyle as a mortal sin. But recently statements by Pope Francis have indicated a softening of that position. He once said that he wouldn’t condemn gays and recently he suggested that civil unions between gays be recognized–not as the sacrament of matrimony–but possibly ok and outside the Church’s definition of sin. Hold on folks, this is going to be a very bumpy ride. US Catholic bishops as well as those in other parts of the world immediately and forcefully reacted to Pope Francis and his gay comments. This issue threatens to create a schism in the Catholic Church like none before it. The faithful Catholic congregation is either for or against gay rights and even then in degrees of acceptance. So ANY effort by the Church to include gays on any basis is sure to cause a depletion of the ranks. This movement is already in full swing in the Methodist Church in America and many of their congregations have spilt on this issue. Could this be the future of the Catholic Church and its diocesan/parish structure? If we accept that “gayness” is not a choice and that it is as natural to be gay as it is to be “non-gay” or straight, it is impossible to discriminate against the gay individual. That would be like saying “I hate all people who are over six feet tall”. So the real question is; will churches slowly evolve their attitudes towards gays in such a way that the minds and hearts of their members will eventually accept “gayness” for what it is–a creation by God? If God doesn’t make mistakes maybe this is a test of worthiness for the non-gay community…just a thought.
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