Pope Francis Should Not Be Applauded for Inching Towards Inclusion

Pope Francis recently released a 256-page “apostolic exhortation” titled Amoris Laetita (“The Joy of Love”). Among a host of issues related to love and family, Francis addressed the matter of communion for the remarried (or lack thereof) and “ all but explicitly ” said “ yes they can .” The pope considerately “ left room for priests to interpret his words as they see fit since he wrote about it in a rather roundabout way .” Such deference to moral ambiguity seems peculiar, particularly coming from a man who has warned that moral relativism represents “ the spiritual poverty of our time .” When it came to homosexuality, however, Francis ditched his lack of decisiveness. This is what he had to say on the subject of gay marriage: There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family. The pope’s comments are terribly upsetting, but not at all surprising. Having said that, the media’s fawning appraisal of Francis’ document has been bizarre, primarily because it’s appearing from what we would normally call “liberal” sources. For example,  here’s what the Washington Post had to say about the document’s overall message : Francis rejected outright the notion of same-sex marriage. But he laid out the church’s warmest welcome in modern times to divorced and remarried couples, saying they should not be judged, discriminated against or excluded from church life. And he encouraged their priests to be merciful in considering whether such Catholics can receive Communion. I love how the authors quickly skip over his unequivocal dismissal of same-sex couples. Sure, Francis is continuing to perpetuate centuries worth of exclusion, but come on — he’s the head of a slow-moving church. What is he supposed to do — provide moral guidance? Even the inclusive-minded EJ Dionne lapped up the pope’s document. He actually praised Francis for “ lifting up what can be called social justice Christianity .” Come again? Just a couple of weeks ago Dionne lambasted Donald Trump for being a “ clownish peddler of racial and religious stereotypes .” Why didn’t he similarly call out the pope for being nothing more than a “clownish peddler of homophobia”? Jonathan Capehart, another prominent liberal writer,
+ Read More