Vatican City, May 20, 2018 / 09:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A victim of the Chilean clergy abuse crisis who met privately with Pope Francis told a Spanish news source that the Pope told him to be happy being gay, because God made him that way.
Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of Chilean abuser Fr. Fernando Karadima, met with Pope Francis privately in April after being invited to the Vatican along with other victims of abuse.
In comments to the press on May 2, Cruz said that the Pope was “sincere, attentive and deeply apologetic for the situation.”
“For me, the pope was contrite, he was truly sorry,” Cruz said. “I felt also that he was hurting, which for me was very solemn, because it’s not often that the pope says sorry to you…he said, ‘I was part of the problem, I caused this and I apologize.’”
In a later interview with Spanish newspaper El País, Cruz was asked whether he and Pope Francis had spoken about homosexuality during their meeting, as Cruz identifies as gay.
Cruz confirmed that they did speak about homosexuality, and that he explained to the Pope that he is not a bad person and tries not to hurt anybody.
“He told me ‘Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like that and he loves you like that and I do not care. The Pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are,’” Cruz recalled. The comment is controversial because it evokes a theological debate about the morality of homosexuality.
The Catechism also states that homosexual acts are “acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states that people with homosexual tendencies “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”
The Vatican has not yet confirmed or clarified the comments that Cruz said the Pope made regarding homosexuality.
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Vatican City, Mar 1, 2017 / 09:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At Ash Wednesday Mass, Pope Francis spoke about the bad habits, negativity, and sin present in our lives which cause us to be choked off from the life-giving breath of God – supernatural grac… […]
Pope Francis opens the Holy Door in L’Aquila, Italy on Aug. 28, 2022. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Aug 28, 2022 / 04:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis became the first pope in 728 years to open the Holy Door of a 13th-century basilica in L’Aquila, Italy on Sunday.
During a visit to the Italian city located about 70 miles northeast of Rome on Aug. 28, the pope participated in a centuries-old tradition, the Celestinian Forgiveness, known in Italian as the Perdonanza Celestiniana.
The opening of the Holy Door marked a key moment in the annual celebration established by Pope Celestine V in 1294.
“For centuries L’Aquila has kept alive the gift that Pope Celestine V left it. It is the privilege of reminding everyone that with mercy, and only with it, the life of every man and woman can be lived with joy,” Pope Francis said in his homily during Mass at L’Aquila’s Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio.
“To be forgiven is to experience here and now what comes closest to the resurrection. Forgiveness is passing from death to life, from the experience of anguish and guilt to that of freedom and joy. May this church always be a place where we can be reconciled, and experience that grace that puts us back on our feet and gives us another chance,” he said.
Pope Francis began the day trip at 7:50 a.m. traveling by helicopter from the Vatican to L’Aquila. He visited the city’s cathedral, which is still being rebuilt after it was badly damaged during a 2019 earthquake in which more than 300 people died.
The pope wore a hard hat while touring the reconstruction area of the damaged church. He spoke to family members of earthquake victims in the town square in front of the cathedral, where local prisoners were also present in the crowd. People cheered and waved Vatican flags as Pope Francis greeted them from a wheelchair.
Pope Francis wore a hard hat while visiting the L’Aquila cathedral, which was damaged by a 2019 earthquake. Vatican Media
Pope Francis said: “First of all I thank you for your witness of faith: despite the pain and loss, which belong to our faith as pilgrims, you have fixed your gaze on Christ, crucified and risen, who with his love redeemed the nonsense of pain and death.”
“And Jesus has placed you back in the arms of the Father, who does not let a tear fall in vain, not even one, but gathers them all in his merciful heart,” he added.
After speaking to the families of the victims, Pope Francis traveled in the popemobile to L’Aquila’s Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, where he celebrated an outdoor Mass, recited the Angelus, and opened the Holy Door.
In his brief Angelus message, the pope offered a prayer for the people of Pakistan, where flash floods have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands more.
Pope Francis also asked for the intercession of the Virgin Mary to obtain “forgiveness and peace for the whole world,” mentioning Ukraine and all other places suffering from war.
Pope Francis prayed for peace in his Angelus address following Mass in L’Aquila, Italy. Pope Francis prayed for peace in his Angelus address following Mass in L’Aquila, Italy.
During his visit to L’Aquila, the pope said that he wanted the central Italian city to become a “capital of forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation.”
“This is how peace is built through forgiveness received and given,” he said.
L’Aquila is the burial place of Pope Celestine V, who led the Catholic Church for just five months before his resignation on Dec. 13, 1294. The pope, who was canonized in 1313, is buried in L’Aquila’s Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio.
In the spring, the Vatican’s announcement that Pope Francis would visit L’Aquila prompted unsourced speculation that the trip could be the prelude to the 85-year-old pope’s resignation.
When Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign in almost 600 years in 2013, Vatican-watchers recalled that he had visited the tomb of Celestine V years earlier. During his trip on April 28, 2009, he left his pallium — the white wool vestment given to metropolitan archbishops — on the tomb. In hindsight, commentators suggested that Benedict was indicating his intention to resign.
In his homily in L’Aquila, Pope Francis praised Pope Celestine V for his humility and courage.
Mentioning Dante Alighieri’s description of Celestine as the man of “the great refusal,” Pope Francis underlined that Celestine should not be remembered as a man of “no” — for resigning the papacy — but as a man of “yes.”
Pope Francis said: “Indeed, there is no other way to accomplish God’s will than by assuming the strength of the humble, there is no other way. Precisely because they are so, the humble appear weak and losers in the eyes of men, but in reality they are the true winners, for they are the only ones who trust completely in the Lord and know his will.”
At the end of the Mass, the crowd prayed the Litany of Saints and watched as Pope Francis made history when he opened the basilica’s Holy Door. According to Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi of L’Aquila, Pope Francis is the first pope to open the Holy Door in 728 years.
Visiting cardinals have opened the Holy Door for the Celestinian Forgiveness in past years, after a reading of the bull of forgiveness by the local mayor. Celestine donated the papal bull to L’Aquila, where it is kept in an armored chapel in the tower of the town hall.
The bull of forgiveness drawn up by Celestine V offered a plenary indulgence to all who, having confessed and repented of their sins, go to the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio from Vespers on Aug. 28 to sunset on Aug. 29. A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary, and all the saints to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.
Celestine’s indulgence was exceptional at the time, given it was available to anyone, regardless of status or wealth, and cost nothing except personal repentance at a time when indulgences were often tied to almsgiving.
Pope Francis prays at the tomb of Pope Celestine V in L’Aquila, Italy. Vatican Media
After opening the Holy Door, Pope Francis was wheeled through the basilica to the tomb of Pope Celestine V, where he spent a moment in silent prayer before the relics of his papal predecessor who was declared a saint in 1313.
“In the spirit of the world, which is dominated by pride, today’s Word of God invites us to be humble and meek. Humility does not consist in the devaluation of self, but rather in that healthy realism that makes us recognize our potential and also our miseries,” Pope Francis said.
“Starting precisely from our miseries, humility causes us to look away from ourselves and turn our gaze to God, the One who can do everything and also obtains for us what we cannot have on our own. ‘Everything is possible for those who believe (Mark 9:23).'”
Vatican City, May 11, 2017 / 03:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Wednesday evening, just two days ahead of his trip to Fatima, Pope Francis sent a video message to the people of Portugal asking them to be with him during his pilgrimage, whether physically or spiritually, as he presents flowers to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“I need to feel your closeness, whether physical or spiritual; the important thing is that it come from the heart. In this way, I can arrange my bouquet of flowers, my ‘golden rose,’” he said in the May 10 video message.
“I want to meet everyone at the feet of the Virgin Mother.”
In the message, Pope Francis said he had received many messages asking him to come to people’s homes, communities and towns during his visit, but that he was not able to accept, as much as he would like to.
He also thanked the various Portuguese authorities for being understanding about his decision to restrict his trip to only the usual events associated with a pilgrimage to Fatima, such as praying the rosary at the prayer vigil and visiting the Chapel of the Apparitions.
“Only a few days remain before our pilgrimage, mine and yours, to the feet of Our Lady of Fatima,” he said. “These are days of joy in expectation of our encounter in the home of Mary our Mother.”
“It is as the universal pastor of the Church that I would like to come before the Madonna and to offer her a bouquet of the most beautiful ‘blossoms’ that Jesus has entrusted to my care (cf. Jn 21:15-17),” he continued.
And this means everyone around the world, “none excluded,” he explained. “That is why I need to have all of you join me there.”
“With all of us forming ‘one heart and soul’ (cf. Acts 4:32), I will then entrust you to Our Lady, asking her to whisper to each one of you: ‘My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God’ (Apparition of June, 1917).”
In the video, Francis called the meeting “our pilgrimage,” the motto for which is ‘With Mary, a pilgrim in hope and in peace.’ The program for the visit contains many opportunities for prayer and conversion of heart, he said.
“I am happy to know that in anticipation of that blessed moment, the culmination of a century of blessed moments, you have been preparing yourselves by intense prayer,” he noted. “Prayer enlarges our hearts and makes them ready to receive God’s gifts. I thank you for all the prayers and sacrifices that you offer daily for me. I need them, because I am a sinner among sinners.”
Through prayer, he said, he receives light to his eyes, which “enables me to see others as God sees them, and to love others as he loves them.”
Pope Francis makes the two-day pilgrimage to Fatima May 12-13 to celebrate the centenary of Mary’s appearance to three shepherd children in 1917.
During the trip, the Pope will also celebrate Mass, presiding over the canonization of two of the child visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta Marta.
“In his name, I will come among you and have the joy of sharing with everyone the Gospel of hope and peace,” he concluded his message. “May the Lord bless you, and the Virgin Mother protect you!”
Pope Francis’ connection to the severe side of the Holy Spirit’s scripture in this and in the death penalty ( Rom.1:26-27/Rom.13:3-4) is non existent. His two predecessors were likewise disconnected from other severity related themes ( EV sect.40/ Verbum Domini sect.42). It’s pandemic and started in the early 20th century movement of Catholic biblical scholars towards Protestant liberal biblical scholarship which has good points and very bad habits also. Both the bad and the good entered Catholicism and the problem at its root is Biblical. Romans one is implicitly saying between the lines that heterosexuality is a result of passing many tests of loving God and homosexuality is the result of drift from God into excess which gradually leads to gay acts. The one exception I see would be the biological chimera who is the result of two fraternal twin eggs ( boy and girl) lying too close and merging into one embryo..the resulting one person then has both male and female dna which is the one case I know of…of sincere, non sinful gender confusion.
He called the death penalty “ cruel and unnecessary” in St. Louis in 1999 and sought world abolition of it despite his own catechism being a little better than that. To call some action cruel in itself is tantamount to calling it intrinsic evil and is to contradict the over 33 death penalties God gave to the Jews…and one death penalty God gave the Gentiles. He was not connected to all scripture as Aquinas was.
Pope Bergoglio’s statement is blasphemy since he claims that the All-Good God has committed “an act of grave depravity” by creating a homosexual person who, as such, is “intrinsically disordered” morally. This statement is also manifest heresy, directly contradicted by the entire Magisterium of the Church and explicitly summarized in the post-conciliar Catechism.
I can just imagine the press release that is being crafted by Vigano that will attempt to explain this latest example of Pontifical prudential absurdity.
Pope Francis seems to flatly disagree with St. Paul’s assessment of the matter. If only Paul the Apostle could have understood Jorge Bergoglio’s take on humility and mercy, I’m sure he would have agreed with our Argentine pontiff and backed off all that nasty stuff we find in Romans 1:18-27. Of course, who could be expected to equal the theological brilliance and consequent insights that Francis has, as Vatican insiders assure us? Ah, we’re just so fortunate to live in this pope’s era of enlightened Christianity!
Oh, yes!!! And if only Bergoglio could have lived 2000 years ago, penned the gospels
and omitted the pesky warnings of Jesus which St. Paul reiterated, there would be so much less confusion in the world!! You need to hand it to Bergoglio. He is doing his best with a false torch of enlightenment to lead the masses already in darkness into a fiery abyss. Bergoglio told an abuse victim that God made him gay and that he should be glad to be gay??? Strange, many former homosexuals claim that sexual abuse was a cause of their homossexuality. Is Bergoglio suggegsting the the guy should be glad that he was abused????
According to what has been reported, Pope Francis did not say homosexual acts were o.k. If Pope Francis did say “God made you that way” he is going against what is in the Catechism in section 2357 says about homosexuality, that is “…Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained…”
One item that would be quite tragic in all of the clergy abuse scandals that I haven’t seen addressed is if the abuse may be at the root of some of the victims’ homosexual tendencies.
Here’s the section in the Catechism on Homosexuality in its entirety:
Chastity and homosexuality
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”
Pope Francis’ connection to the severe side of the Holy Spirit’s scripture in this and in the death penalty ( Rom.1:26-27/Rom.13:3-4) is non existent. His two predecessors were likewise disconnected from other severity related themes ( EV sect.40/ Verbum Domini sect.42). It’s pandemic and started in the early 20th century movement of Catholic biblical scholars towards Protestant liberal biblical scholarship which has good points and very bad habits also. Both the bad and the good entered Catholicism and the problem at its root is Biblical. Romans one is implicitly saying between the lines that heterosexuality is a result of passing many tests of loving God and homosexuality is the result of drift from God into excess which gradually leads to gay acts. The one exception I see would be the biological chimera who is the result of two fraternal twin eggs ( boy and girl) lying too close and merging into one embryo..the resulting one person then has both male and female dna which is the one case I know of…of sincere, non sinful gender confusion.
Hardly ‘disconnected’ with John Paul II.
A temptation regardless of the origination.
The actual act in homosexuality is always a choice.
He called the death penalty “ cruel and unnecessary” in St. Louis in 1999 and sought world abolition of it despite his own catechism being a little better than that. To call some action cruel in itself is tantamount to calling it intrinsic evil and is to contradict the over 33 death penalties God gave to the Jews…and one death penalty God gave the Gentiles. He was not connected to all scripture as Aquinas was.
The defenders of Pope Francis will either embrace this or spin it. Let us see if there is a press release from the Vatican on Monday or Tuesday.
Pope Bergoglio’s statement is blasphemy since he claims that the All-Good God has committed “an act of grave depravity” by creating a homosexual person who, as such, is “intrinsically disordered” morally. This statement is also manifest heresy, directly contradicted by the entire Magisterium of the Church and explicitly summarized in the post-conciliar Catechism.
I can just imagine the press release that is being crafted by Vigano that will attempt to explain this latest example of Pontifical prudential absurdity.
New Gospel fragment discovered in Jordanian cave: “And Jesus said unto him, ‘you’re fine just the way you are; go, and change nothing about yourself.”
Pope Francis seems to flatly disagree with St. Paul’s assessment of the matter. If only Paul the Apostle could have understood Jorge Bergoglio’s take on humility and mercy, I’m sure he would have agreed with our Argentine pontiff and backed off all that nasty stuff we find in Romans 1:18-27. Of course, who could be expected to equal the theological brilliance and consequent insights that Francis has, as Vatican insiders assure us? Ah, we’re just so fortunate to live in this pope’s era of enlightened Christianity!
Oh, yes!!! And if only Bergoglio could have lived 2000 years ago, penned the gospels
and omitted the pesky warnings of Jesus which St. Paul reiterated, there would be so much less confusion in the world!! You need to hand it to Bergoglio. He is doing his best with a false torch of enlightenment to lead the masses already in darkness into a fiery abyss. Bergoglio told an abuse victim that God made him gay and that he should be glad to be gay??? Strange, many former homosexuals claim that sexual abuse was a cause of their homossexuality. Is Bergoglio suggegsting the the guy should be glad that he was abused????
According to what has been reported, Pope Francis did not say homosexual acts were o.k. If Pope Francis did say “God made you that way” he is going against what is in the Catechism in section 2357 says about homosexuality, that is “…Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained…”
One item that would be quite tragic in all of the clergy abuse scandals that I haven’t seen addressed is if the abuse may be at the root of some of the victims’ homosexual tendencies.
Here’s the section in the Catechism on Homosexuality in its entirety:
Chastity and homosexuality
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”