Pope Francis’s Tacit Support For Gay Marriage Subverts Scripture To Please The World

When Belgium’s Catholic bishops meet him for their required visit on Nov. 21-26, Pope Francis will have the chance to either reaffirm or negate Catholic doctrine concerning one of civilization’s most contentious issues: same-sex marriage.

Flemish bishops in September published a proposed liturgy for same-sex couples. Belgium’s French-speaking bishops said afterward they would consider something similar.

But such liturgies could lead to sacramental recognition of same-sex marriage. That would mark a pivotal, perhaps irrevocable, theological and moral shift, especially when secular authorities increasingly support exposing children to LGBT sexuality.

For centuries, the Catholic Church taught that same-sex marriage was sacramentally invalid. The catechism defines homosexual sex as “acts of grave depravity” and “intrinsically disordered” and urges homosexuals to practice chastity.

The catechism reflects biblical teaching. Leviticus included homosexuality alongside other sexual behaviors considered “detestable.” In the New Testament, Jesus defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. St. Paul, a former Pharisee, described homosexual acts as “shameful” and practicing homosexuals as unable to “inherit the Kingdom of God.”

In March 2021, responding to a similar challenge from Germany’s bishops, the Vatican’s leading theological body, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declared that the church had no authority to bless same-sex unions. The congregation’s written response pointedly mentioned that Francis himself approved the decision and its publication.

Years before that decision, Francis reiterated Catholic teaching on marriage. He even described gender theory as “ideological colonization.” But the Belgian bishops cited Francis as their inspiration.

Quoting from Francis’ “Amoris Laetitia,” which addresses family love, the bishops expressed their goal to use the “discernment, guidance and integration” he advocates to “give a concrete response and fulfillment to the desire to give explicit attention to the situation of homosexual persons, their parents, and families in their policy making.” The bishops concluded with a proposed “prayer for love and loyalty.”

Though Francis defends traditional marriage in words, his actions reveal an apathetic tolerance for LGBT advocacy and behavior. That apathy extends to his appointments.

One is Cardinal Vincenzo Paglia, who, as I noted in these pages in September, has a concerning tolerance for abortion. Francis named him in 2016 to be president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which Pope John Paul II founded to combat abortion. But before moving to the Vatican, Paglia showed a penchant for homosexuality.

While archbishop of a small diocese north of Rome, Paglia commissioned for his cathedral a painting dominated by homoerotic images. It includes a scene showing the semi-nude archbishop, wearing his skullcap, embracing a semi-nude male.

Paglia and another priest supervised every aspect of the work.

“There was no detail that was done freely, at random,” said the artist, Ricardo Cinalli. “Everything was analyzed. Everything was discussed. They never allowed me to work on my own.”

From 2012-2016, Paglia was president of the Pontifical Council for the Family. In that role, he released a sex-education course for teens that Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons called “the most dangerous threat to Catholic youth that I

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