Speaking of a church evolving and changing through acceptance, the Vatican has also recently released a statement calling for less judgment of those in the LGBQT community, and that their children be invited into the church and treated with dignity.
Pope Francis’s Words.
The 75-page document was based on a 39 questionnaire sent to various dioceses of the Catholic Church. It also echoed Pope Francis’s words,?“If someone is gay, and he has good will and is searching for the Lord, who am I to judge him?”
While it is not fully accepting and there is still a stance of the Catholic Church against same sex unions and the redefining of marriage by the governments of the world, there was far more compassionate language in this document than in previous years.
There is no immediate acceptance, but there is more compassion and caring present for those in the LGBQT community from the Catholic Church.
The document also said that the Church had to find balance between the teachings of the traditional family, it also had to find a way to be more compassionate and less judgmental of those in same sex unions.
Past Harsh Words & An Interesting Teaching.
In the past, the Vatican referred to homosexuality as “intrinsically disordered” and part of an “intrinsic moral evil.”
Interestingly enough, the Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful, but that homosexual acts are sinful.
The document also said that the children of gay couples may be baptized in the church, and even admitted that some priests don’t know how to deal with such things.
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While the new document did not signal any immediate change in the Church’s condemnation of homosexual acts and its opposition to gay marriage and to the adoption of children by gay people, it used language that was remarkably less judgmental and more compassionate than past Vatican statements.
It said that while bishops remained opposed to governments “redefining” marriage by permitting same-sex unions, the Church had to find a balance between its teachings on the traditional family “and a respectful, non-judgmental attitude towards people living in such unions.”
While the new document did not signal any immediate change in the Church’s condemnation of homosexual acts and its opposition to gay marriage and to the adoption of children by gay people, it used language that was remarkably less judgmental and more compassionate than past Vatican statements.
It said that while bishops remained opposed to governments “redefining” marriage by permitting same-sex unions, the Church had to find a balance between its teachings on the traditional family “and a respectful, non-judgmental attitude towards people living in such unions.”
