VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People who act shocked that a priest would bless a gay couple but have no problem with him blessing a crooked businessman are hypocrites, Pope Francis said.
“The most serious sins are those that are disguised with a more ‘angelic’ appearance. No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people, which is a very serious sin. Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual – this is hypocrisy,” he told the Italian magazine Credere.
The interview was scheduled for publication Feb. 8, but Vatican News reported on some of its content the day before when the magazine issued a press release about the interview.
I try to be more generous than that when considering other people’s motivations, even those whose actions I find despicable.
It obviously doesn’t excuse despicable actions, but it does give the opportunity to recognize when people are trying to be better.
Holding leaders to a higher standard doesn’t mean calling them evil because they believe something different than you, it means not letting them hide behind their religion for their choices.
But given that he does believe in heaven, and the organization he leads is made out of people who also believe in heaven, the fact that he’s trying to get as many people there as possible is hard to fault him for, especially when the thing he’s doing (telling the church to be more welcoming and kind to lgbtq folks) is objectively good.
When the pope says he can’t bless gay marriage, is that not letting him hide behind his religion for his choices?
Unfortunately what he is doing is little better than “hate the sin love the sinner”.
homosexuality is not a sin.