Pope Francis has it right on some issues but will be besieged by more questions now that there is a very Catholic Supreme Court Justice who by the way has seven children. Yes, he said when first appointed seven years ago in 2013 “If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has a good will, then who am I to judge him?” His pronouncements are enigmatic however and have implications for the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide. And now they will apply to questions on birth control, climate change, end of life issues and reproductive freedoms including abortion.
Francis made a distinction between gay people (good) and the way that they express passion and love (not good). A new documentary, “Francesco,” made with the approval of the Vatican, follows people whose lives have been affected by the Pope. It has complicated the Church’s position rather than clarified it, since the remarks were reportedly edited, in different ways, by both the film’s director and the Vatican.
A significant sentence was left out, however, so that Francis is heard approving of civil unions, but is not heard adding, “That does not mean approving of homosexual acts, not in the least.” Oy! what can be done fairly?