Pope Leo XIV: Marriage is a “stable union between a man and a woman”

Not surprising that the newly-crowned emperor of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Leo XIV has now categorically stated that a “stable union between a man and a woman” forms the bedrock of good Christian families. Back in 2012, he had reportedly made remarks on the “homosexual lifestyle” and how “acceptance of same-sex relationships” allegedly promoted by the media “conflicted with Catholic doctrine”.

It didn’t help that his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, was himself confused about the position the Church takes on the matter of gay rights and issues. The New York Times in its article “Pope Sends More Mixed Messages on L.G.B.T.Q. Rights” published in 2021 reported…

Nearly eight years after Pope Francis famously responded, “Who am I to judge?” on the issue of gay Catholics, it has become increasingly difficult to discern where he stands on the issue. A growing dissonance has developed between his inclusive language and the church’s actions.

The result is confusion and frustration among some of the pope’s liberal supporters who wonder whether the 84-year-old Argentine remains committed to a more tolerant church and is simply struggling to grasp the rapidly shifting contours of a difficult issue, or is really a social conservative trying to please everyone.

Awkward!

Specially so considering Filipinos are making a song and dance about how “brotherly” the new pope comes across to them. The Inquirer reports that De La Salle University top honcho Br. Armin Luistro was already schmoozing with the pontiff in Rome. Luistro, we recall, served as education secretary under the late former President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III during during which he reportedly expressed support for the use of gayspeak as a medium of instruction.

“Ang paggamit ng mga bagong nabubuong kolokyal na kagaya ng ‘beki’ ay kasama sa pagbabago ng mga wika at hindi natin mapipigilan. Kapag ang ganitong salita ay naging katanggap-tanggap na sa lipunan at ginagamit na ng mayoridad, saka pa lang ito naisasali sa opisyal na komunikasyon [The use of new colloquial terms like gayspeak is part of the evolution of languages that we cannot stop. If this type of language becomes acceptable to society and is being used by the majority, that’s the time it becomes part of official communication],” Luistro said.

Luistro’s La Salle brothers also made news back in 2016 when they approved “an LGBT-oriented group at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde”, reportedly “the first school in the Brothers system in that country to take such a step.”

The Philippines’ Roman Catholic Church is closely allied with its liberal and left-leaning partisan and activist communities notably the camp of former Vice President Leni Robredo who, in 2022 with the strong backing of the Church led a “pink” campaign in her bid to beat then candidate Bongbong Marcos to the presidency. The pink-coloured theme of her camp signify a strong solidarity with the Philippines gay community yet Robredo herself tiptoed around the idea of homosexual marriage lest she angers her Catholic overlords.

With Filipinos’ relationship with their predominant faith already complicated as it is, a conservative pope will likely ask all the hard questions Filipino politicians have been skirting even as they aspire to advocate “inclusive” agendas.

benign0

benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.