On Same-Sex Marriage And Family, Pope Rebukes Bishops Pushing ‘Dangerously Unbalanced’ Policy

Pope Francis chastised Christian priests and pastors who make opposition to same-sex marriage the centerpiece of their message to their congregations.

Sunday morning in Philadelphia Pope Francis sent a strong message rebuking those Christian priests who have made anti-gay teachings the core of their ministry, and warned his Bishops that it is “dangerously unbalanced” to preach against modern day changes to marriage while not offering tangible support to families.

“A Christianity which ‘does’ little in practice, while incessantly ‘explaining’ its teachings, is dangerously unbalanced,” Francis explained to several dozen bishops attending the World Meeting of Families, and who have traveled the globe to visit with the Bishop of Rome. “I would even say that it is stuck in a vicious circle,” the Pope added.

Pope Francis urged his bishops to not wallow in claims of a past they might believe was better, but rather, to welcome the next generation into the Catholic Church and choose marriage.

LOOK: Pope Francis Shares Progressive Message Before Congress But Takes Subtle Swipe At Same-Sex Marriage

“Should we blame our young people for having grown up in this kind of society?,” Pope Francis posited. “Should we condemn them for living in this kind of a world? Should they hear their pastors saying that ‘it was all better back then,’ ‘the world is falling apart and if things go on this way, who knows where we will end up?’ No, I do not think that this is the way.”

“We need to invest our energies not so much in rehearsing the problems of the world around us and the merits of Christianity, but in extending a sincere invitation to young people to be brave and to opt for marriage and the family,”

In “Pope to bishops: Don’t blame others for gay marriage, family problems,” Religion News Service’s David Gibson noted the Pope did not mention same-sex marriage specifically, but called Francis’ message “a powerful rebuke to the culture war mentality that has often marked the public witness of the Catholic hierarchy.”

Although directed toward his bishops, the Pope’s warning could easily be aptly telegraphed to most of the GOP’s 2016 presidential candidates, like Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, and Ben Carson – all of whom have done exactly what the Pope warned his ministers against.

Gibson also noted the timing of Pope Francis’ remarks in the City of Brotherly Love, home to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, one of the Catholic Church’s most anti-gay leaders and a vocal critic of what American conservatives like him see as the Pope’s progressive ideas.

 

EARLIER:

A Gay Dad Invites Pope Francis To ‘Meet My Family Face-to-Face’

Read: Full Text Of Pope Francis’ Address To Congress

Pope Praises Americans As ‘Committed To Building A Society Which Is Truly Tolerant And Inclusive’

 

Image by michael_swan via Flickr and a CC license