THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday defended Pope Francis against those accusing him of going against the Church’s teachings on marriage.
Acting CBCP President Bishop Pablo David said Pope Francis chose to be compassionate than being simply righteous when he backed same-sex union despite the Church’s hard line stand against same-sex marriage.
“This is how we understand what Pope Francis is doing. He is not out to destroy our morals and orthodoxy. He just wants to do as Jesus himself did. He valued being kind and compassionate more than being right and righteous,” said David.
In a documentary aired last week, Pope Francis became the first leader of the Catholic Church to endorse same-sex civil unions.
In the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” the Pontiff was quoted as saying “what we have to have is a civil union law, that way they are legally covered.”
“He is saying this as a pastor, without compromising anything about the Church’s understanding of marriage and family. It is just that he consistently refuses to reject those who are unable to enter into marriage and build family because of circumstances in their lives,” David said.
David noted that the Pope, in the documentary, opted to be compassionate to a man raising three children with his homosexual partner and who expressed his longing to be part of a parish community but was afraid because he knew his kind of life was not approved of in the Church.
“Pope Francis said ‘Go and join the parish anyway.’ He did not say ‘Follow the Church laws first before you join the parish community,’” David said.
