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| Pope Francis and R’ Shmuel Rabinovitch at the Kotel (Getty images) |
If there was ever a pope that could be described as liberal/left, Pope Francis is it. I don’t think this is arguable. He has shown time and again that he sides with social justice. Which is the clarion call of the left. The idea being that individualism - which is defined as being independent and self reliant - is a selfish standard by which to live. Because then, only the strong survive at the expense of the weak. Socialism on the other hand demands an equal outcome for everyone, regardless of one’s natural ability or personal determination to succeed. In other words the underdog should be given priority over the high achiever. So that at the end of the day, their outcomes will be the same.
It may be true that socialism is more altruistic than individualism. (And I emphasize - may.) But it is also true that a fully socialist system has failed every time it has been tried on any major scale (...for reasons beyond the scope of this post). Be that as it may, I mention it only to explain Pope Francis’s liberal/socialist perspective and contrast it with recent Vatican ruling regarding same-sex unions. From Associated Press:
The Vatican declared Monday that the Catholic Church won’t bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.”
The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative.”
I’m pretty sure that the LGBTQ community is unhappy about this. Especially coming from a pope with clear liberal credentials whose compassion for the underdog is legendary. Their quest for normalization has taken a hit from the leader of millions of religious Roman Catholics all over the world. The majority of whom (including clergy if I understand correctly) actually favored the church blessing gay marriage.
This does not mean that Pope Francis says gay couples should mistreated or rejected. On the contrary. He has nothing but compassion for them but that cannot change religious doctrine:
The Vatican holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that gay sex is “intrinsically disordered.” Catholic teaching says that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman, is part of God’s plan and is intended for the sake of creating new life.
Not that the pope has any kind moral authority with me. He does not. I do not look to religious leaders of other faiths for my moral authority. I look to the Torah as interpreted by the sages throughout history.
But Pope Francis’s ruling is noteworthy because despite his strong liberal/socilaist credentials he nevertheless adheres to a moral code based on the bible. The biblical verses regarding homosexual behavior are the same in his bible as they are in mine. And like me, he does not try to reinterpret the bible to fit modern concepts of morality. He sees them as a Divine directive. Which we must adhere to regardless of our personal feelings. Personal feelings do not matter in the face of the will of God. No matter how much religious notions about gay sex have devolved into secular respectability. Like Pope Francis indicated, God does not bless sin.
I know how difficult it is to see things that way when the dominant liberal culture sees gay sex and heterosexual sex as equal. But if you are a religious Catholic or a religious (meaning observant) Jew, you have no alternative but to reject giving a religious imprimatur upon a lifestyle conducive to sinful behavior. I’m glad that the religious leader of so many people has made that clear.
Whether that will have any practical effect on our culture is doubtful. The pull away from biblical values towards humanistic values is too strong. Catholicism does not have the moral sway it once had - to say the least. But at least a highly admired religious figure who still retains authority over a great many people has put the brakes on it. Which I am happy to see.