Pope Francis urged to condemn gay unions as unnatural

[DonViejo]

Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Nearly half a million Catholics have signed a petition urging Pope Francis to condemn same sex unions as unnatural and rule out allowing divorced believers who remarry to receive communion, organisers claim.

The Filial Appeal on the Future of the Family, launched by a group describing itself as an alliance of lay Catholics and pro-Life organisations, has also secured the backing of more than 100 senior clerics, including many bishops from the developing world and American cardinal Raymond Burke, an arch-conservative who has been sidelined within the Vatican hierarchy since Francis was elected two years ago.

According to the Appeal’s website, more than 462,700 people had, by Thursday, signed the petition, which urges Francis to uphold traditional teaching ahead of an October synod which will review how the Church relates to gay and divorced followers.

The petition claims that a first synod held last year had caused, “widespread confusion arising from the possibility that a breach has been opened within the Church that would accept adultery ? by permitting divorced and then civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion ? and would virtually accept even homosexual unions when such practices are categorically condemned as being contrary to divine and natural law.”

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/pope-francis-urged-to-condemn-gay-unions-as-unnatural/

[cloudbase]

1. Unnatural?

Like celibacy?

[Kelvin Mace]

16. Well, they don't know what the word means, apparently.

Since there are hundreds of examples of gay behavior in nature.

http://www.livescience.com/1125-homosexual-animals-closet.html

Almost a quarter of black swan families are parented by homosexual couples. Male couples sometimes mate with a female just to have a baby. Once she lays the egg, they chase her away, hatch the egg, and raise a family on their own.

"Homosexuality" and "heterosexuality" are terms defined by societal boundaries, invisible in the animal kingdom.

[LynneSin]

2. I like this Pope because so far he seems to be ok with the LGBT community

He hasn't embraced marriage equality yet but he has moved further towards it than any other pope in history. At least he seems to be one of those 'there are more important issues to be fighting like incoming equality and world hunger'.

I see the Catholic Church evolving on the issue of marriage equality and I think this guy might make it happen.

[irisblue]

12. he isn't & he will never do this.

I wish he would, but I just can't imagine it.

[RKP5637]

27. He might be possibly comfortable with it, but he has a bunch of followers that

just can't seem to evolve and reprogram their minds into the 21st century.

[KamaAina]

3. Gay unions?

International Brotherhood of Florists? United Interior Decorators?

[Angry Dragon]

5. lol

[jberryhill]

15. My glasses are dirty again, I thought it said "onions"

But, yeah, gay unions. They won't let you be gay for more than 8 hours a day, and you have to be straight on weekends and holidays.

[KamaAina]

34. Gay onions would have to be Maui onions

They're sweet, and... y'know, Maui.

[David__77]

35. It's been years since I thought of the old florist/decorator gay stereotype.

I'm gay. I do believe I know some gay guys that are hair stylists. I don't know that I've ever met a gay florist or interior decorator...

[KamaAina]

36. Damn! I forgot the Amalgamated Hairstylists!

[C Moon]

4. Nearly 1/2 a million? That doesn't seem like a very substantial number.

[glinda]

6. Someone could start another petition and get more numbers.

[Gman]

9. I can't imagine it's a realistic number

I think they're goosing the numbers. White House petitions very rarely get numbers like that.

[sarge43]

14. Not compared 1.2B declared Catholics world wide.

According to my smart phone that's about one fourth of one percent

Don't think il Papa is staying awake worrying about their hizzy fit.

[C Moon]

22. That's what I was referring to, thanks.

[RKP5637]

29. There are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world, according to Vatican figures.

Nearly 1/2 a million is really not many in the big picture.
So, that means only around .04% of Catholics have signed this petition.

[KamaAina]

7. That makes about as much sense as urging him to bless Eagles QB Sam Bradford's knee

No, srsly.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/120456910

[pnwmom]

8. The fact that these right-wingers feel the need to do this is very telling.

They know they are losing their influence and they're desperately trying to hang on.

[DonViejo]

13. From everything I've been reading, it seems to be right wing Christian law firms....

e.g., the Christian law firm Liberty Counsel that is behind all of these moves. I don't know if the firms are promising a win in the Courts or, maybe like the ACLU, are represent their clients for free hoping to be reimbursed the the government if they win.

[Angry Dragon]

10. I like how the catholic church is treated in The Last Day

[Live and Learn]

11. Huh, since when does the Catholic church do things by petition?

Interesting concept. Perhaps they should send a copy to God since he is supposed to be the one telling the Pope what to do.

There are a lot more that half a million Catholics anyway so the fact that a small minority are irrational, discriminatory idiots should in no way influence the Pope at all except to help him understand that some of the church members don't seem to understand the message of the New Testament and Christianity in general.

[closeupready]

17. Gay sex is COMPLETELY natural for ME, and for my gay friends. No question about it.

Just ask us. Nothing more natural for me IMO, and sex with the opposite gender is not just wrong, but repulsive.

[Qutzupalotl]

18. So if you remarry you're a sinner and can never be forgiven?

I thought the whole point of the church was to offer an avenue for forgiveness.

Some of these people are just hateful, exclusionary elitists.

[valerief]

19. If only they realized being Catholic is unnatural. nt

[RKP5637]

30. K&R! I've met so many Catholics who were so pleased with their lives once they left the

Catholic Church and deprogrammed their minds. A mind is a horrible thing to lose to a warped religion, or any religion IMO.

[LiberalElite]

33. I left it in high school and never looked back

I didn't require that much deprogramming though, because I never really believed in it. I was looking for the exit since about 4th grade.

[starroute]

20. Interesting list of prominent signatories

http://www.filialappeal.org/personalities-who-have-signed,3229,c.html

It seems to be heavy on deposed royalty -- an exiled king of Rwanda, members of of the royal houses of Portugal and Brazil -- along with various European dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses, barons and baronesses, princes and princesses.

There are several people associated with the ultra-conservative Society for the Defence of Tradition, Family, and Property, which would like to see a return to feudalism.

There are a couple of former ministers in the government of the Shah of Iran.

Oh, look, there's Rick Santorum!

And Ron Robinson, president of Young America's Foundation, who's also a board member of Citizens United and one of the three board members of a PAC that has funded a white nationalist group. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/ron-robinson-james-b-taylor-young-americas-foundation-white-nationalists)

In other words, these are not just "conservative Catholics." These are aristocrats and would-be aristocrats, people who are motivated by a bone-deep hatred of the modern world and everything it represents and want nothing more than to turn the clock back about five centuries.

The AFP article goes way too easy on them.

[restorefreedom]

21. frances doesnt take orders from the flock

he leads the flock. i have a feeling he is going to do something at this synod that will piss off many "traditional" catholics

[JudyM]

24. Let's hope so.

[Warren Stupidity]

25. as far as marriage equality goes, he has consistently denounced it as an abomination.

So I guess your ability to read his mind is extraordinary. I'll go by what he has said, and by what he has said homophobia remains and will remain the official policy of the rcc.

[restorefreedom]

26. i do not seeing the church as a whole

changing on this issue unfortunately for a very very long time. He has already said some things about gay people and gay couples, and divorced Catholics that have me thinking he's going to try to move the church forward on these issues. But it's like one little tiny guy trying to push along the Queen Mary. even if he was completely on board, it would be very very tough.

[RKP5637]

31. I hope so. The Catholic Church really needs to come of of the dark ages and their modern

inquisitions.

[JudyM]

23. Maybe these folks should listen more carefully to what their Pope believes are more important values

Apparently their faith is twisted all up in condemning lgbt and divorced people's loving impulses. The pope is trying to say that helping others is much more important than condemning. I hope his response to this is unequivocal and helps them see what their religion is actually about.

[hollysmom]

28. wonder how many of the signees are really Catholic, I am such a doubter.

I would not be surprised if something like one of these sites posted it and left that little detail out when getting people to sign.

[RKP5637]

32. IMO the whole thing is likely a haters/bigots attempt to further work to wreck peoples

lives. As I've grown older I've been stunned at the number of people that find great happiness in working to destroy peoples lives. That, is what is unnatural, and it's damn disgusting.