Who Am I to Judge. BTW, Your Love Is Bad. Horrible. Destroying the world. Sorry, not sorry. What an unfortunate turn of events for the hope of true change. So much good, that had been carved out of the unmovable and purportedly infallible doctrine of exclusion, was instantly vaporized by the Pope's statements about marriage during his visit to the Philippines.
The Pope pulled out the very same catch phrase that has been used repeatedly to deny equal status to the relationships of same-sex couples, "redefine marriage". As if marriage should have any definition other than a union of people who love each other. I can't say that I feel at all included in the Pope's definition of family.
I am one of (I suspect) many who have been quietly observing and reserving judgment (if you will) of Pope Francis. Not judgment about whether or not he is a good human being. Not judgment about his likelihood to make it to Heaven. Judgment about just how supportive (or judgmental) he really is when it comes to LGBT people. Now I know.
There can be little doubt that this Pope is a marvelous improvement and that his tone has been amazingly more inclusive than ever before. He has made it clear that he does not approve of the rich getting richer at the expense of the poor. He has, most definitely, softened the rhetoric regarding people who are LGBT.
Well, actually, that would be people who are LGB. He has pretty much relegated people who are transgender to the - I should be used to it by now - realm of invisible and non-existent. This truth aside, one of the realities of the pursuit of equal rights for LGBT Americans is that relationship recognition is a very powerful form of acceptance. Failure to recognize LGBT relationships is a horribly harmful form of marginalization, and in the case of the Pope, an undeniable form of hypocrisy.
Who Am I to Judge. BTW, Your Love Is Bad. Horrible. Destroying the world. Sorry, not sorry. It leaves me knowing that the tone has been hollow and the substance hidden. It leaves me knowing that nothing short of never-before-seen substance will establish any true change in the way LGBT people are seen, and treated, by the Vatican.
The marginalization of human beings, any human beings, is distinctly not representative of following the teachings and example of Christ. When Jesus talked about lifting up "the least of these", he was not talking about creating an entire class of people to fill the role of the least of these. He was talking about inviting everyone to the table. Excluding no one.
Our love is not bad. Our love is not destroying the world. The most significant threat to the family is failure to recognize all families. If the Pope truly wants to reach out to the marginalized, he should truly open his arms to everyone.
I still think the Pope is a remarkable human being. I have no idea if he (or anyone else) is going to Heaven. But I am certain that his concerns about same-sex couples are misguided and harmful. Sorry. Not sorry.