Tuesday 7 January 2014

Media Mis-represents the Pope on SSM

Today, NOM Blog reports on the furore surrounding a report that the Pope has "Called for Catholic Church Re-think on Gay Parents", as reported, for example, here.

The remarks come from a recently published conversation with the leaders of certain religious orders, by a Jesuit journal on Friday. In it, Pope Francis called for the Church to reevaluate the way in which children in difficult circumstances are engaged through catechesis and evangelisation.
As children of same-sex couples were mentioned, the media of course went into its full spin cycle, with "Italian media on Sunday [running] headlines saying the pope's words were an opening to legal provisions for civil unions for gay couples" [SOURCE].

However, the Vatican's Press Secretary called these reports "a 'manipulation' of the Pope's words," and said that the Pope was "alluding to the suffering of children" and how the Church addresses those sufferings.

Indeed, far from a softening of the Church's stance against redefining marriage, the Pope's remarks reaffirm that the Church recognises the children raised in such abnormal circumstances as disadvantaged and indeed even "suffering" a violation of their fundamental right to enjoy the love of both a mother and a father. There is nothing new in the Pope's teachings, therefore, but simply a call to reemphasise the need of such children to be approached with compassion and clarity, lest they feel alienated and are further victimised when the situations in which they are raised are no fault of their own.

But don't wait for the mainstream media to present you with that angle, or you'll be waiting a very long time.