Pope Francis' Meaningless Words of Apology to Gays

Another foreign trip with Pope Francis chatting with journalist in an unscripted manner and another wave of breathless, near orgasmic posturing by masochist gays who have failed and refused to walk away from Catholicism and journalists who are still desperately trying to depict Pope Francis as a reformer Pope. This time, as numerous outlets have reported Francis said that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church needed to "apologize to gays and should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they have treated them."  The problem with Francis' nice words is that when he has had the opportunity to dramatically change Catholic dogma and doctrine on gays he has done nothing and backed down in a cowardly fashion to the ugliest homophobes in the Church hierarchy.  Thus, despite Francis' latest statements, gays remain "intrinsically disordered" and "inclined towards moral evil."  Until theses doctrinal positions change, Francis words are worth less than sheets of used toilet tissue.  They mean nothing.  A piece in Vox looks at the meaninglessness of Francis' latest media lauded statements.  Here are highlights:

Pope Francis’s latest comments on gay people have triggered yet another round of coverage about how gay-friendly this pope is. But as welcoming as Francis’s latest comments are, they’re being graded on a weighted scale — one that still allows a lot of homophobia.

In his latest remarks, Francis said Christians and the Catholic Church should apologize to gay people and ask for forgiveness. He said, “We Christians have to apologize for so many things, not just for this [treatment of gays], but we must ask for forgiveness. … I think that the Church not only should apologize … to a gay person whom it offended, but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by [being forced to] work. It must apologize for having blessed so many weapons.”

This all certainly sounds nice. But as with other examples in which the media embraced Francis as unusually LGBTQ-friendly for a pope, Francis’s words are getting much, much more credit than his actions. Because as far as actions go, the Vatican is still anti-gay.

As William Saletan pointed out at Slate, this isn’t a radical departure from what's been the typical line of conservative Catholics for some time now: “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” Francis was saying that he won't “reject and condemn this person,” but that still leaves room for condemning the alleged sin of homosexuality itself.

And the Catholic Church has continued doing just that: The Church states that while gay people “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity,” they are still “called to chastity” because “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”

Francis has also affirmed his opposition to same-sex marriage.  . . . . So the pope has occasionally said things that, alone, seem friendly to gay people. But when analyzed further, the basic teachings of the Catholic Church — and the pope — haven't changed at all: Homosexuality is still seen as a sin, gay people are still called to chastity, and same-sex marriage remains opposed.

But the pope gets a pass on his anti-gay views, simply because, in comparison to his predecessors, his rhetoric is nicer. That may make him slightly progressive compared to some members of his church, but it's far from liberal on gay issues. And if evaluated fairly, the pope's positions are still highly regressive and condemnable among anyone who cares about gay rights.

The bottom line is that until Francis actually changes Church doctrine and dogma on homosexuality, responsible journalist need to completely ignore what amounts to little more than a PR effort to make Catholicism seem less hate-filled to onlookers.  For now, NOTHING HAS CHANGED and, frankly, if there is a Hell, I suspect that Francis will be there with his foul predecessors at some future date. Words are meaningless.  Actions are what count.