WHAT IS POPE FRANCIS’ STAND ON SAME-SEX “MARRIAGE”?

A few days ago, I received a private message from a follower of this page, asking me to pray for her friend who had just left the Catholic Church. Her friend told her that the Catholic Church is a “false religion” because “Pope Francis approved the same-sex ‘marriage’ (!) and this is one of the reasons why she apostasized.” I replied telling her to keep on praying for her and being her good friend. However, I clarified that what her friend said is nothing but a blatant lie, if not a malicious interpretation if not attribution of pronouncements to the poor Pope who never uttered those words. The Pope was very clear in his speeches during his visit to the Philippines warning all those present to protect the institutions of marriage and of the family from the “ideological colonizations” which attempt to redefine marriage.

Nevertheless, motivated by this private message and the recent US Supreme Court decision regarding the issue, I decided to post this letter the Pope sent as the then Cardinal Bergoglio to the Carmelite Nuns of Buenos Aires ─asking them to pray for the then Argentine intent to pass a bill to legalize the “marriage” of persons of the same sex─, to inform all the Catholics of what the present Pope’s stand is regarding the issue in order to assure those who might still be in doubt or in a state of confusion.

Below is the letter, taken from rorate-coeli blog and published later in L’Osservatore Romano (July 8, 2010). Bold letters and highlights, mine:

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Letter of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
to the Carmelite Nuns of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (June 22, 2010)

Dear Sisters,

I write this letter to each one of you in the four Monasteries of Buenos Aires. The Argentine people must face, in the next few weeks, a situation whose result may gravely harm the family. It is the bill on matrimony of persons of the same sex.

The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother, and children. The life of so many children who will be discriminated beforehand due to the lack of human maturity that God willed them to have with a father and a mother is in jeopardy. A clear rejection of the law of God, engraved in our hearts, is in jeopardy.

I recall words of Saint Thérèse when she speaks of the infirmity of her childhood. She says that the envy of the Devil tried to extort her family after her older sister joined the Carmel. Here, the envy of the Devil, through which sin entered the world, is also present, and deceitfully intends to destroy the image of God: man and woman, who receive the mandate to grow, multiply, and conquer the earth. Let us not be naive: it is not a simple political struggle; it is an intention [which is] destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a “move” of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God.

Jesus tells us that, in order to defend us from this lying accuser, he will send us the Spirit of Truth. Today, the Nation [patria], before this situation, needs the special assistance of the Holy Ghost that may place the light of Truth amid the shadows of error; it needs this Advocate who may defend us from the enchantment of so many sophisms with which this bill is being justified, and which confuse and deceive even people of good will.

That is why I turn to you and ask from you prayer and sacrifice, the two invincible weapons which Saint Thérèse confessed to have. Cry out to the Lord that he may send his Spirit to the Senators who are to place their votes. That they may not do it moved by error or by circumstantial matters, but rather according to what the natural law and the law of God tell them. Pray for them, for their families; that the Lord may visit, strengthen, and console them. Pray that they may do great good for the Nation.

This bill will be discussed in the Senate after July 13. Let us look towards Saint Joseph, to Mary, the Child, and let us ask with fervor that they will defend the Argentine family in this moment. Let us recall what God himself told his people in a time of great anguish: “this war is not yours, but God’s”. That they may succour, defend, and accompany us in this war of God.

Thank you for what you will do in this struggle for the Nation. And, please, I beg you, pray for me also. May Jesus bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin protect you.

Affectionately,

Card. Jorge Mario Bergoglio s.j., Archbishop of Buenos Aires

****END***

Dear friends, as Catholics, our faith teaches us that we should always accept and respect our gay brethren with understanding, friendship and prayers. The Catechism states that they: “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition (Catechism 2358).”

Nevertheless and at the same time, we should intensify our prayers so that God’s plan for marriage as a communion between man and woman be upheld, protected and respected by men and women of goodwill, especially those who have the task to promulgate laws in all nations.  In his speech to the participants of the International Colloqium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman, he stressed that:

“[C]omplementarity [between man and woman] lies at the foundation of marriage and the family, which is the first school where we learn to appreciate our talents and those of others, and where we begin to acquire the art of living together. For most of us, the family is the principal place in which we begin to “breathe” values and ideals, as we develop our full capacity for virtue and charity…

In these days, as you reflect on the complementarity between man and woman, I urge you to emphasize yet another truth about marriage: that the permanent commitment to solidarity, fidelity and fruitful love responds to the deepest longings of the human heart. Let us think especially of the young people who represent our future: it is important that they should not let the harmful mentality of the temporary affect them, but rather that they be revolutionaries with the courage to seek strong and lasting love, in other words, to go against the current: this must be done. I would like to say one thing about this: we must not fall into the trap of being limited by ideological concepts. The family is an anthropological fact, and consequently a social, cultural fact, etc. We cannot qualify it with ideological concepts which are compelling at only one moment in history, and then decline. TODAY THERE CAN BE NO TALK OF THE CONSERVATIVE FAMILY OR THE PROGRESSIVE FAMILY: FAMILY IS FAMILY! DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE QUALIFIED BY THIS, OR BY OTHER IDEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS. THE FAMILY HAS A FORCE OF ITS OWN.”

-Fr. Rolly Arjonillo, priest of Opus Dei. CATHOLICS STRIVING FOR HOLINESS. We are also in Facebook: www.facebook.com/CatholicsstrivingforHoliness Hope you like our page and invite your friends as well to do so in order to help more people.

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LETTER SOURCE: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2010/07/may-holy-family-join-us-in-this-war-of.html

POPE FRANCIS’ SPEECH TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON THE COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN SPONSORED BY THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH 17 November 2014 in  https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/november/documents/papa-francesco_20141117_congregazione-dottrina-fede.html