Pope Francis Clarifies Comments on Sin and Homosexuality

Michie · Jan 28, 2023

Father Martin published the Pope’s Spanish-language letter and an English translation on the website of Outreach on Jan. 27.

Pope Francis has written a letter to clarify his comments on sin and homosexuality from a recent interview with the Associated Press.

“When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” the Pope wrote to Jesuit Father James Martin, in response to a request for clarification.

Francis said he was trying to say in the interview that criminalization of homosexuality “is neither good nor just.”

“As you can see, I was repeating something in general,” he wrote. “I should have said ‘It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage.’ This is to speak of ‘the matter’ of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin.”

Father Martin published the Pope’s Spanish-language letter and an English translation on the website of Outreach on Jan. 27. Father Martin is the editor of Outreach, which describes itself as “an LGBT Catholic resource” operating under the auspices of America Media.

In an interview published Jan. 25 by AP, Pope Francis said, “Being homosexual is not a crime. It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

Continued below.

Pope Francis Clarifies Comments on Sin and Homosexuality

Father Martin published the Pope’s Spanish-language letter and an English translation on the website of Outreach on Jan. 27.

www.ncregister.com

narnia59 · Jan 28, 2023

So this seems to be to be valid Catholic teaching:

“As you can see, I was repeating something in general,” he wrote. “I should have said ‘It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage.’ This is to speak of ‘the matter’ of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin.”

It's in alignment with the "full knowledge and deliberate consent" that makes something a sin.

In a perfect example of how James Martin and his program skew the pope's words, the Outreach website has a big headline that says "Pope Francis clarifies comments on homosexuality: 'One must consider the circumstances.'" Which is quite different than what he said -- it's a sin in terms of matter, but as with all sins it must be done with full knowledge and deliberate consent. They want to portray it as there are circumstances that make it okay and not a sin. The pope didn't say that -- he said it's a sin but circumstances could determine how accountable or not the person is for that sin.

Cherry picking what they want so they can move forward with their agenda. And trying to paint the pope as an ally.

I think in the last thread you posted about this Michie you said you agree with Pope Francis that homosexual acts should not be criminalized. I think it's too easy for us to hear something the pope says and place it in our own culture without recognizing there are vastly different cultures his words may be intended for. The world still has multiple countries that will imprison or even execute someone for being a homosexual. That indeed falls into what the catechism refers to as "unjust discrimination." He told Fr. Martin in his letter that his intention was to make a statement that homosexuality should not be a crime. That Fr .Martin runs with that to try to move his cause forward is a deliberate attempt to deceive. Many unfortunately will fall for it.

But I do hope most of us would agree with the Pope's words on this, and recognize the truth in them.

Ave Maria · Jan 28, 2023

narnia59 said:
So this seems to be to be valid Catholic teaching:

“As you can see, I was repeating something in general,” he wrote. “I should have said ‘It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage.’ This is to speak of ‘the matter’ of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin.”

It's in alignment with the "full knowledge and deliberate consent" that makes something a sin.

In a perfect example of how James Martin and his program skew the pope's words, the Outreach website has a big headline that says "Pope Francis clarifies comments on homosexuality: 'One must consider the circumstances.'" Which is quite different than what he said -- it's a sin in terms of matter, but as with all sins it must be done with full knowledge and deliberate consent. They want to portray it as there are circumstances that make it okay and not a sin. The pope didn't say that -- he said it's a sin but circumstances could determine how accountable or not the person is for that sin.

Cherry picking what they want so they can move forward with their agenda. And trying to paint the pope as an ally.

I think in the last thread you posted about this Michie you said you agree with Pope Francis that homosexual acts should not be criminalized. I think it's too easy for us to hear something the pope says and place it in our own culture without recognizing there are vastly different cultures his words may be intended for. The world still has multiple countries that will imprison or even execute someone for being a homosexual. That indeed falls into what the catechism refers to as "unjust discrimination." He told Fr. Martin in his letter that his intention was to make a statement that homosexuality should not be a crime. That Fr .Martin runs with that to try to move his cause forward is a deliberate attempt to deceive. Many unfortunately will fall for it.

But I do hope most of us would agree with the Pope's words on this, and recognize the truth in them.

I'm a little confused though. Is Pope Francis saying that homosexual unchastity should not be criminalized or is he saying that governments shouldn't make the existence of people with same-sex attraction a sin? As far as I am aware, and I could be wrong, no government punishes people simply for being attracted to the same sex. They only punish some people for acting on their same-sex attraction in an unchaste manner. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Michie · Jan 28, 2023

narnia59 said:
So this seems to be to be valid Catholic teaching:

“As you can see, I was repeating something in general,” he wrote. “I should have said ‘It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage.’ This is to speak of ‘the matter’ of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin.”

It's in alignment with the "full knowledge and deliberate consent" that makes something a sin.

In a perfect example of how James Martin and his program skew the pope's words, the Outreach website has a big headline that says "Pope Francis clarifies comments on homosexuality: 'One must consider the circumstances.'" Which is quite different than what he said -- it's a sin in terms of matter, but as with all sins it must be done with full knowledge and deliberate consent. They want to portray it as there are circumstances that make it okay and not a sin. The pope didn't say that -- he said it's a sin but circumstances could determine how accountable or not the person is for that sin.

Cherry picking what they want so they can move forward with their agenda. And trying to paint the pope as an ally.

I think in the last thread you posted about this Michie you said you agree with Pope Francis that homosexual acts should not be criminalized. I think it's too easy for us to hear something the pope says and place it in our own culture without recognizing there are vastly different cultures his words may be intended for. The world still has multiple countries that will imprison or even execute someone for being a homosexual. That indeed falls into what the catechism refers to as "unjust discrimination." He told Fr. Martin in his letter that his intention was to make a statement that homosexuality should not be a crime. That Fr .Martin runs with that to try to move his cause forward is a deliberate attempt to deceive. Many unfortunately will fall for it.

But I do hope most of us would agree with the Pope's words on this, and recognize the truth in them.

I agree with the pope and knew what he meant when I read it the first time. Unjust laws that criminalize homosexuality and submit them to torture, prison, death is absolutely wrong.

But it does not mean that acting on homosexual urges is not a sin if all the criteria is met. Being homosexual alone is not a sin.

narnia59 · Jan 28, 2023

Ave Maria said:
I'm a little confused though. Is Pope Francis saying that homosexual unchastity should not be criminalized or is he saying that governments shouldn't make the existence of people with same-sex attraction a sin? As far as I am aware, and I could be wrong, no government punishes people simply for being attracted to the same sex. They only punish some people for acting on their same-sex attraction in an unchaste manner. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

I think he would say that governments should do neither of those things, but his intention was to address those countries whose laws make having homosexual sex a crime.

As often is the case he wasn't as clear as he could have been. He wasn't clear to distinguish between having homosexual tendencies or participating in homosexual actvity. To be fair, in other contexts he's done that. But I think well intentioned people would understand his intent was to address those countries that criminalize homosexual behavior, and those not well-intentioned would twist his words regardless.

narnia59 · Jan 28, 2023

Michie said:
I agree with the pope and knew what he meant when I read it the first time. Unjust laws that criminalize homosexuality and submit them to torture, prison, death is absolutely wrong.

But it does not mean that acting on homosexual urges is not a sin if all the criteria is met. Being homosexual alone is not a sin.

Yep. It's just unfortunate that the Outreach ministry is using what he said to twist it and try to push the envelope.

Michie · Jan 28, 2023

narnia59 said:
Yep. It's just unfortunate that the Outreach ministry is using what he said to twist it and try to push the envelope.

That is to be expected with secular media and even some so-called Catholic media. Fr. Martin? I expect as much from him.

narnia59 · Jan 28, 2023

Michie said:
That is to be expected with secular media and even some so-called Catholic media. Fr. Martin? I expect as much from him.

I know it's not a surprise. Just always disappointing. I just thought their headline was a great example of how they operate. How many people are going to take the time to read the Pope's response?

Michie · Jan 28, 2023

narnia59 said:
I know it's not a surprise. Just always disappointing. I just thought their headline was a great example of how they operate. How many people are going to take the time to read the Pope's response?

Well the original post on this topic was from the AP. I would hope the AP has a large readership. They will not be clarifying when it comes to Catholic teaching I’m sure. I knew what the Pope meant when I read it but many won’t.

Michie · Feb 3, 2023

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Pope Francis Clarifies Comments on Sin and Homosexuality

Michie

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