Dear friends,

I pray this finds you well and enjoying our summer. I truly believe that Western Washington is one of the most beautiful places on earth during these months. 

On his way back from Rio, Pope Francis entertained the press on the plane with a candid conversation responding directly to their questions as they were posed. The press asked about that which is most current and most scandalous right up front. They asked about the Vatican Bank scandal, which Pope Francis addressed openly. They also asked about women’s role in the Church, specifically about ordination, and the Holy Father responded by remembering what Blessed John Paul II had definitively stated not too long ago, and affirming the Church’s teaching on the male priesthood. The response that got the most attention though is that which he made when asked about the “gay lobby” within the Vatican.

Within his response Pope Francis said, “If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?” The media took that statement out of context and began to extrapolate. Many heard these words though, and it left an impact. It is nothing new to Catholic teaching and is consistent with the teachings of the Church down through the centuries. Here is the question and our Holy Father’s full response:

Question: I would like to ask permission to pose a rather delicate question.  Another image that went around the world is that of Monsignor Ricca and the news about his personal life.  I would like to know, your Holiness, what will be done about this question.  How should one deal with this question and how does your Holiness wish to deal with the whole question of the gay lobby?

The Pope’s Answer:  Regarding the matter of Monsignor Ricca, I did what Canon Law required and did the required investigation.  And from the investigation, we did not find anything corresponding to the accusations against him.  We found none of that.  That is the answer.  But I would like to add one more thing to this: I see that so many times in the Church, apart from this case and also in this case, one  looks for the “sins of youth,” for example, is it not thus?, And then these things are published.  These things are not crimes.  The crimes are something else: child abuse is a crime.  But sins, if a person, or secular priest or a nun, has committed a sin and then that person experienced conversion, the Lord forgives and when the Lord forgives, the Lord forgets and this is very important for our lives.  When we go to confession and we truly say “I have sinned in this matter,” the Lord forgets and we do not have the right to not forget because we run the risk that the Lord will not forget our sins, eh?  This is a danger.  This is what is important: a theology of sin.  So many times I think of St. Peter: he committed one of the worst sins denying Christ.  And with this sin they made him Pope.  We must think about fact often.

But returning to your question more concretely: in this case [Ricca] I did the required investigation and we found nothing.  That is the first question.  Then you spoke of the gay lobby.  Agh… so much is written about the gay lobby.  I have yet to find on a Vatican identity card the word gay.  They say there are some gay people here.  I think that when we encounter a gay person, we must make the distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a lobby, because lobbies are not good.  They are bad.  If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this point beautifully but says, wait a moment, how does it say, it says, these persons must never be marginalized and “They must be integrated into society.”

The problem is not that one has this tendency; no, we must be brothers, this is the first matter.  There is another problem, another one: the problem is to form a lobby of those who have this tendency, a lobby of the greedy people, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of Masons, so many lobbies.  This is the most serious problem for me. And thank you so much for doing this question. Thank you very much!  (Jimmy Akin on National Catholic Register Blog /www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-what-pope-francis-said-about-gays)

Pope Francis wonderfully puts things into perspective. He did what the Church called for in the case of Monsignor Ricca and then distinguishes between the sins of the person and the person. Especially in dealing with sins of the past, the Church believes in forgiveness and reconciliation and calls all of her children to realize their true dignity as children of God. As soon as we label someone or define them by their race, color, sexuality, etc. we do not recognize the true dignity of the person. As Christians we are beloved children of God, baptized into Christ Jesus, His beloved Son. This great truth defines who we are and how we relate to others before anything else, as Pope Francis is showing us. 

Pax,

Fr. Jack D. Shrum