Cardinal Policarpo of Lisbon has reversed himself on the issue of women priests. He had recently told a Portuguese publication that he saw “no fundamental theological obstacle” to it. Responding to the backlash generated by his comments, he now acknowledges the Church’s teaching. Vatican Insider reports him saying, “The reactions to this interview have forced me to consider the issue more carefully, and I found that, especially for not having taken into due consideration the latest declarations of the Magisterium on this subject, I gave rise to these reactions.”
The correction is welcome, but it is alarming that a cardinal says he didn’t even know the Church’s teaching on the subject.
Meanwhile, a Dominican bishop in Mexico has come out in favor of same-sex marriage. “José Raúl Vera López, bishop of the city of Saltillo, in northern Mexico, recently supported the requests put forward by the gay, bisexual and transgender community of San Elredo in the region of Coahuila (the capital of which is Saltillo) regarding a change to the civil laws on same-sex marriage. Last month, a law was passed, legalising this type of marriage in the City of Mexico,” reports Vatican Insider.
A reversal similar to Policarpo’s isn’t likely to come from this bishop. The story says that he has been a longstanding advocate for gay rights who holds that the Gospel “does not define homosexuality as a sin. These are opinions but they are not the Gospel.”
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