Kochi: Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) says there is no change in the Church’s stand on same sex marriage.
“The Catholic Church has not diluted its stand on family life and homosexuality. The Church does not make exhortations about marriage and family life through documentaries,” KCBC spokesperson Father Jacob Palakkappalli said October 22, a day after Pope Francis purportedly endorsing same-sex civil unions in in a documentary.
“The Pope had taught in the past also that those in the LGBT category are children of God and they deserve special care and love. The Church is of the stand that same-sex inclinations should be differentiated from same-sex acts,” asserted Father Palakkapalli.
According to him, the reports that the Pope had justified the same-sex marriage “are baseless and misleading.”
While being interviewed for a documentary, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on October 21, the Pope had purportedly stated that “homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God.”
He reportedly said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film, “What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
The Pope’s comments have evoked mixed response from the Catholic Church, but the Vatican has not denied his endorsement of the same-sex civil unions.
The KCBC is the common forum for Catholic bishops in Kerala belonging to Syro-Malabar, Latin and Syro-Malankara Churches. Its current president is Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church with its headquarters in Kochi.
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry, chairman of KCBC’s media commission, said, “Pope Francis has not adopted any stance that denies the Church teachings on sexual morality. ”
The Catholic Church does not recognize living together of same-sex persons as marriage. Some countries had accepted such relations as civil union. The Church has taken a serious note about the pastoral work among people living in that manner, the bishops’ council said.
Source: indianexpress.com