I’m sure that by now you’ve heard about the recent, two-week Catholic Church synod held to discuss modern issues that are proving divisive within the religion. It was a pretty big deal since the Catholic Church was re-visiting some really difficult but important issues, like marriage, divorce, homosexuality, and birth control.
Some kind of draft of their discussions in the synod was released, and let me tell you, it was all over the news. Why? Because it seemed that the Catholic Church was ready to take an enormous step and admit that gay people could potentially be welcomed into the church. I was so surprised to hear something so different and modern from the tradition-driven Catholic Church. As it turned out later, however, they stepped back from this decision. In the actual text of the synod, the final decision was much colder in its tone than the draft that was initially released, causing many people to be upset. In the official draft, the hoped-for “gay people welcomed into the Church” didn’t happen, but the statement did say that the Church can’t judge gay people and needs to show some solidarity. They also said that marriage in the Bible is a term that refers only to a male and female union.
I find this topic really interesting but so darn complicated. As a Christian (not Catholic, but still) I do know the beliefs of the Church and its attitude toward gay people. I was raised in this belief, and, to be honest, I didn’t really question it — until today. Okay, maybe not today, but definitely very recently. As Pope Francis said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” And, really, what gives us the right to judge? The Church speaks about God’s love and acceptance, but this very mindset does not accept and love.
With the welcoming of gay couples, the Church could win a lot more converts. And the whole “love each other as you are” thing would be WAY MORE AUTHENTIC. True, this ruling can probably lose a lot of the Church’s more conservative members, but the question then becomes: Are we too afraid to disappoint the older members to make way for change? Despite everything, I consider this synod to be a first step to something new. To quote Pope Francis again,
“Personally I would have been very worried and saddened if there hadn’t been these…animated discussions… if everyone had agreed with one another or had kept silent in a false and acquiescent peace.”
It’s surely a monumental development that they even discussed this topic since it’s so taboo. Now it’s not. Now it’s urgent, and the Church sees it, too. And, personally, I think that Pope Francis is the one who could find a compromise.
Will the Church change with the world? We’ll see.