{"id":42209,"date":"2020-10-21T17:53:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T23:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=42209"},"modified":"2020-10-22T12:06:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T18:06:03","slug":"a-great-shipwreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/a-great-shipwreck\/","title":{"rendered":"A Great Shipwreck?","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

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ON<\/strong> October 20th, Our Lady allegedly appeared to Brazilian seer Pedro Regis (who enjoys the broad support of his Archbishop) with a strong message:<\/p>\n

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Dear children, the Great Vessel\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>and a Great Shipwreck; this is the [cause of] suffering for men and women of faith. Be faithful to My Son Jesus. Accept the teachings of the true Magisterium of His Church. Stay on the path that I have pointed out to you. Do not let yourself be contaminated by the mire of false doctrines. You are the Lord\u2019s Possession and Him alone should you follow and serve.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u2014Read full message here<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Today, on this eve of the Memorial of St. John Paul II, the Barque of Peter shuddered and listed as the news headline emerged:<\/p>\n

“Pope Francis calls for civil union law for same-sex couples,
\nin shift from Vatican stance”<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a documentary that premiered today in Rome, Francis says:\"\"<\/p>\n

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Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They\u2019re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Those remarks are followed in the video by:<\/p>\n

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What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that.<\/strong> \u2014Catholic News Agency<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>October 21st, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It must be said that, since the raw footage is not available, it is hard to know if these statements are pieced together in a way that is consistent with the context (ie. it appears to be edited responses). That said, the plain language of the statement (translation) would appear to be as the headline suggests: Francis is endorsing civil union laws for same-sex couples. If that is not the case, a clarification from the Vatican and the Holy Father would be imperative.<\/p>\n

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THE CHURCH’S TEACHING ON SAME-SEX UNIONS<\/p>\n

It must be said straight away that what Francis has said in this documentary, or in previous interviews and off-the-cuff statements, are not necessarily binding magisterial teaching for the reason that they are outside the proper exercise of the Magisterium (certainly, his statement against the alienation of those with homosexual tendencies is right and consistent with Catholic teaching; see below). As Catholics, we have to be very careful about this basic fact that not every word a pope utters<\/em> requires “religious assent”[1]<\/sup><\/a>CCC, n. 892<\/span><\/span>