Pope benedict xvi on homosexuality
LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON THE PASTORAL CARE OF HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS
1. The issue of homosexuality and the moral evaluation of lgbtq+ acts have increasingly become a matter of public debate, even in Catholic circles. Since this debate often advances arguments and makes assertions inconsistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church, it is quite rightly a bring about for concern to all engaged in the pastoral ministry, and this Congregation has judged it to be of sufficiently grave and widespread importance to address to the Bishops of the Catholic Church this Letter on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.
2. Naturally, an exhaustive treatment of this complex issue cannot be attempted here, but we will point our reflection within the distinctive context of the Catholic moral perspective. It is a perspective which finds aid in the more secure findings of the natural sciences, which have their own legitimate and proper methodology and field of inquiry.
However, the Catholic moral viewpoint is founded on human reason illumined by faith and is
Professor Calls Pope’s Comments on Gays ‘Significant’
Pope Francis drew huge crowds during his recent visit to Brazil, and then made headlines for saying he had no right to decide homosexuals, a remark he made during an minute press conference aboard the flight back to Rome.
“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has nice will, who am I to judge?” Francis said, using the English pos “gay” though speaking primarily in Italian. Photos taken on the papal airplane showed the pontiff looking relaxed as he added, “the tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem. . . . They’re our brothers.”
While Vatican experts pointed out that Francis’ comments did not advocate acting on lesbian tendencies, and were not a departure from the church’s official views, Chair of the Department of Religion Randall Balmer says the pontiff’s remarks are noteworthy.
“While it is true that the pope’s comments on homosexuality do not, strictly speaking, represent a departure from church teaching, the proof that he volunteered such comments, when he could easily have dodged the question, st
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Roman Catholic Church
BACKGROUND
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world, with approximately billion members across the globe. With its origins in the earliest days of Christianity, the Church traces its leadership––in the person of the Pope––to St. Peter, identified by Jesus as “the rock” on which the Church would be built.
The Catholic Church in the United States numbers over 70 million members, and is organized in 33 Provinces, each led by an archbishop. Each bishop answers directly to the Pope, not to an archbishop. Those Provinces are further divided into dioceses, each led by a bishop. At the base of the organizational structure are local parishes, headed by a pastor, appointed by the local bishop. The Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States meets semi-annually.
As part of a global organization with its institutional center at the Vatican, the Catholic Church in America is shaped by worldwide societal and cultural trends. It is further shaped by governance that is entirely male, with w
CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
Instruction
Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations
with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies
in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders
Introduction
In continuity with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and, in particular, with the Decree Optatam Totius [1] on priestly formation, the Congregation for Catholic Education has published various Documents with the aim of promoting a suitable, integral formation of future priests, by offering guidelines and specific norms regarding its diverse aspects. [2] In the meantime, the Synod of Bishops also reflected on the formation of priests in the circumstances of the present day, with the intention of bringing to completion the doctrine of the Council on this theme and making it more explicit and effective in today's world. Following this Synod, Pope John Paul II published the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis. [3]
In soft of this abundant teaching, the present Instruction does not expect to dwell