Current:Home > StocksCatholic Church's future on the table as Pope Francis kicks off 2023 Synod with an LGBTQ bombshell-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Catholic Church's future on the table as Pope Francis kicks off 2023 Synod with an LGBTQ bombshell
View Date:2024-12-24 00:08:00
Rome — Pope Francis opened a big meeting Wednesday on the future of the Catholic Church, where contentious topics will be discussed. The three-week General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican, sometimes called the Super Bowl of the Catholic Church, has drawn bishops from around the world to discuss hot button issues including whether priests should be allowed to get married, if divorced and remarried Catholics should receive communion, whether women should be allowed to become deacons and how the church will handle matters around the LGBTQ community.
Even before it kicked off this year's synod was already historic: It's the first time that women and laypeople are being allowed to vote — though 80% of participants are still bishops, and thus men. But the biggest bombshell dropped earlier this week, when Francis opened the door for the possibility of Catholic priests blessing same-sex unions.
His remarks, published Monday, came with caveats: Francis stressed that blessings shouldn't be seen as elevating same-sex unions to the sacred place of heterosexual marriage, but until now, the church's position had been that same-sex unions could not be blessed, because "God cannot bless sin."
In his statements — issued in reply to cardinals who had requested clarity on the church's position on the matter — Francis said, "we cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude."
In his opening homily Wednesday for the synod, the pope said that "everyone, everyone, everyone," must be allowed in.
LGBTQ organizations welcomed the change in tone, while church conservatives blasted Francis for appearing to dilute Catholic doctrine and sow confusion.
Jaime Manson, a women's rights activist and devout Catholic, said the change opens the church tent for LGBTQ couples like her and her partner of four years.
"Affirming and embracing everyone only makes the church stronger," Manson told CBS News. "It is a very slim minority of Catholics who are opposed to same-sex unions."
Father Gerald Murray, a conservative priest from Manhattan, disagreed.
"For the pope to say that priests and bishops can find a way to do this, it's wrong," Murray said. "He shouldn't do it."
"The harm is that it contradicts Catholic teaching," Murray said when asked about the harm in making the tent "bigger for more people."
All this, and the synod has only just begun.
- In:
- Pope Francis
- Same-Sex Marriage
- LGBTQ+
- Catholic Church
Chris Livesay is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in Rome.
TwitterveryGood! (7932)
Related
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- 8 cozy games to check out on Nintendo Switch, from 'Palia' to 'No Man's Sky'
- Man trapped for 6 days in wrecked truck in Indiana rescued after being spotted by passersby
- Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops wounded in drone attack in Iraq
- Glen Powell responds to rumor that he could replace Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'
- North Korea’s Kim boasts of achievements as he opens key year-end political meeting
- Parasite Actor Lee Sun-kyun Dead at 48
- Pregnant 18-year-old who never showed for doctor's appointment now considered missing
- The Latin Grammys are almost here for a 25th anniversary celebration
- Almcoin Trading Center: Token Crowdfunding Model
Ranking
- Where is 'College GameDay' for Week 12? Location, what to know for ESPN show
- Mississippi prison guard shot and killed by coworker, officials say
- 2 teen girls stabbed at NYC's Grand Central terminal in Christmas Day attack, suspect arrested
- How Suni Lee Refused to Let Really Scary Kidney Illness Stop Her From Returning For the 2024 Olympics
- Indiana in the top five of the College Football Playoff rankings? You've got to be kidding
- Florida State quarterback Tate Rodemaker won't play in Orange Bowl, but don't blame him
- Map shows where blue land crabs are moving, beyond native habitat in Florida, Texas
- Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson out for season after injury to ACL, MCL
Recommendation
-
Martha Stewart playfully pushes Drew Barrymore away in touchy interview
-
Live updates | Israel’s forces raid a West Bank refugee camp as its military expands Gaza offensive
-
NFL power rankings Week 17: Ravens overtake top spot after rolling 49ers
-
The death toll in a Romania guesthouse blaze rises to 7. The search for missing persons is ongoing
-
Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
-
Worried about taxes? It's not too late to cut what you owe the government.
-
Pregnant 18-year-old who never showed for doctor's appointment now considered missing
-
Lucky NFL fan from NJ turns $5 into $489,383 after predicting a 14-pick parlay bet