Philly Catholic Blogger On Pope’s Acceptance of Gay Clergy

In response to Pope Francis’s recent, surprising revelation that it is not his place to judge gay clergy, Philly Post editor Brian Howard rang up South Philly-based Catholic blogger Rocco Palmo to ask what this means for the future of the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality … 

I don’t think it’s a sea change in terms of teaching — but, if anything, how it’s most fully expressed. His first reference went back to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You hear about the teaching side of the church, and homosexual acts are still incompatible with church teaching, as is any sex outside marriage. It all comes from the Sixth Commandment, “thou shall not commit adultery.” But — and it’s something that’s admittedly been easy to miss in the wider perception – the Catechism also underscores there’s also the pastoral concern of the church, that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God, and explicitly urges that “every sign of unjust discrimination” toward gays and lesbians “is to be avoided.” If the church weren’t open to sinners, then no one would be able to be a part of it, period. God speaks in the bible as the church being the house of prayer for all people. This has often been lost in the modern debate on homosexuality.

Read the rest of the Q&A, including Rocco’s response to how the establishment is reacting and how this will play out in Philly parishes, here.

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