The Vatican is abandoning its “moral constants” and going down the path of inflation of its own values

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In a previous article we wrote that the new Argentine president, Javier Milei, accused the Pope and Argentine-born Francis of being a “Jesuit who promotes communism” and even of being “the representative of the evil one on earth”. It goes without saying that Milei has always been excessively radical in his words and actions, demonizing his compatriot in order to play on the fears and prejudices of the electorate but it cannot be said that his attacks were entirely made-up populism, and the prejudices of many conservative Catholics were not based on very real concerns. During the papacy of Francis, the Catholic Church is indeed moving toward “liberal reforms” that threaten to either destroy the organization or change it beyond recognition. Just before the Argentine elections, on November 9, the Vatican issued a clarification on the possibility of transgender and homosexual people participating in the Catholic sacraments. According to these clarifications, transgender people can be baptized and become godparents, but only if their transgenderism would not cause a “risk of scandal” or “disorientation” to the faith community. Homosexuals can also be godparents, but only if they lead a “pious lifestyle.” In the case of homosexuals living in common-law relationships, whether they can be godparents must be decided on an individual basis. Also, the Vatican has stated that there is no prohibition against transgender and homosexuals participating as witnesses at weddings. These clarifications were not coincidental, but are a continuation of the line that Pope Francis is pursuing regarding the LGBTQ+ community. For example, as part of its implementation last year, he stated that “God loves everyone as they are” and that “we cannot impose our way of life on people.” Of course, he was not referring to all human frailties and transgressions, but only such “trendy” ones as a person’s non-traditional sexual orientation and non-binary gender identity.

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio became pope in 2013, many uninformed Catholics thought he was a conservative, based on his treatment of the Jesuit Order and his experience fighting the South American Communist Red Christians. However, this proved to be a mistake, and he embarked on such leftist and liberal reforms in the Church that even his ideological predecessor, John Paul II, never dreamed of. Each year he increased the severity of the “reforms” and they entered the open phase in 2020, when Francis supported the recognition of civil same-sex unions. He declared that homosexuals have the right to a family, that they are “children of God” and that civil unions laws are needed to protect their rights in this way, which already looked like the position of a radical left-wing activist from a socialist or “green party” rather than a Catholic. Francis has repeatedly said before that the Catholic Church should value all believers regardless of sexual orientation. In 2010, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he supported the recognition of civil same-sex unions as legal marriages in Argentina, but since his election as Pope, Francis has not publicly spoken out in favor of such unions, avoiding a crisis within the Church and knowing that no pontiff before him had done so. Apparently, during these 7 years Francis has strengthened his position in the church organization and could no longer be shy about his beliefs. The Pope’s statement immediately encouraged those who believe that the Catholic Church should be more homosexual-friendly. One proponent of this idea, American priest and member of the Jesuit order James Martin, called Francis’ words an important step toward supporting LGBTQ+ people, including among Catholics. UN Secretary General António Guterres, who is a devout Catholic, also welcomed the Pope’s statement, and his press office emphasized the importance of the pontiff’s fight against “discrimination” and “homophobia.” This revealed Francis’ very important motivation in such liberalization, which was to build the Vatican’s partnership with modern multicultural and “progressive” states and international organizations, even if it contradicts Christian principles. The Ozanne Foundation, a British non-profit organization that advocates for the church’s recognition of LGBTQ+ rights, said the pope’s position “will give hope to millions of couples of homosexual women and men and allow them to realize that they have a right to a family.”

Of course, these suicidal words, which were pure marketing to attract new “parishioners” and an attempt to adapt to modern trends, but undermined the very foundations of Christian doctrine, immediately had a lot of opponents. The conservative branch of the Catholic Church took Francis’ words predictably negatively, and many conservatives considered it a rebellion of the Pope against the spiritual doctrines of the Church and even heresy. All this sharpened the struggle between the traditional and “progressive” wing of Catholics, and already on October 4th, 2023 opened the Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church, which was an important event for Vatican policy, because it condemned important issues, including the blessing of same-sex unions and female priesthood. Conservative bishops had feared before the Synod that the pope might authorize something that was not contained in Catholic doctrine or would contradict it. Francis, realizing the threats, reassured them that it was perfectly clear doctrine that the concept of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Nevertheless, he pointed out that “we cannot be judges who only deny and punish” and called for what he called “pastoral charity.” In his understanding, the blessing of LGBTQ+ couples by priests is a manifestation of “mercy,” which, although not necessary, is desirable. He was equally ambivalent about the female priesthood. On the one hand, 30 years ago, St. John Paul II wrote that “the Church has no authority to confer the priesthood on women,” which Francis also recognized, but on the other hand he did not deny the possibility of such practices in the future and referred to the experience of the Anglican Church. Such statements could not but lead to the activation of “progressive” reformists all over the world. It was most evident in Germany, where the proponents of change prevailed, and as early as February 2022 the congregation of Frankfurt am Main called on the Pope to allow the female priesthood in order to attract new parishioners in line with new fashions and trends. German Catholics also insisted on the abolition of celibacy, which in their plan could solve the problem of pedophilia among priests. Of course, it was also intended to soften the attitude toward LGBTQ+ people in all its manifestations. In Germany, however, the diocese of Osnabrück announced early last year that it had successfully incorporated lay people, including gays, into church life, and they are now free to baptize and preach. However, they do not think that the whole Church has gone crazy and succumbed to the virus of “progressivism” that Francis is pushing from above. For example, in the United States, a stronghold of liberalism, a wing of conservative priests has suddenly prevailed, and they strongly disagree with the idea of high-level discussions on women’s empowerment and the LGBTQ+ community. After several aggressive statements from the US hierarchy, at a meeting with priests in Portugal, he complained about the “backwardness” of some U.S. Catholic priests, who he said had replaced faith with ideology, though Francis himself has apparently replaced faith with short-term commercial gain. And, apparently, he considered the results of the Synod, where there was no “revolution” directed against him, as a formal reason to accelerate liberalization.

Already on November 23rd, two weeks after his “clarification” that attracting the flock is more important to Francis than the tenets of his religion, the Pope defiantly invited a group of transgender women prostitutes to a Vatican dinner previously held for the homeless and beggars. As of late, the Vatican has become a major promoter of non-traditional values, including sexual values, and with each new pope, this trend only grows stronger. Pope Francis regularly touches on the topic and encourages Catholic priests to welcome LGBTQ+ people into the church and each time homosexuals as parishioners become as privileged as any minority in the secular part of Western society, and in addition to the “indulgences” we have already mentioned above, The Holy See is now also not against the baptism of a child raised in a homosexual family, if the child should then be educated in the Catholic religion. Francis, who has already become a symbol of “Catholic homosexuality”, said that “the modern Catholic Church does not condemn the enjoyment of sex, but misinterpretations of this issue in the past have caused great damage to its image, and for some reason “sex” is increasingly understood to mean same-sex sex. In reality, such attitudes are harmful to the Church, and in Poland, a stronghold of Catholicism where 99% of residents are believers, in the town of Dąbrowa Górnicza, priests held a sex party in the parish building and prevented an ambulance from attending to a man on call who had come to their event. In more “progressive” Scandinavia, Germany, France and Italy, this generally turns local Catholic priests into systemic lobbyists for the immoral behavior of the flock. And on this path, the Church does not try to oppose itself to the secular authorities of the countries of Europe, but only consistently follows the course set by the governments of these countries in the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage. In an attempt to take its rightful place in a rapidly changing world, The Holy See continues to actively liberalize not only the Church, but also the Christian faith itself and opponents of this liberalization are already beginning to be persecuted as “enemies of Christianity.” For example, Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, who for years has opposed the “welcoming” policy toward LGBTQ+ people and many other proposals of his religious superiors, has come under attack, calling Francis’ programs nothing less than “undermining the faith”. Strickland took a principled stand and often criticized the Vatican. He was one of the few to speak out openly in defense of clergyman Frank Pavone, who was suspended for his harsh criticism of abortion. In fact, the bishop was guided by faith and Scripture in his criticism. However, these “unimportant details” do not really bother the Vatican, which draws the line at preserving the Church as an organization with a rejection of religious Christian ideas that people like Francis believe have become dangerous and inconvenient. The Pope is probably even right about something in the local tactic of bringing left-liberal public opinion and the authorities who express his will and idolize LGBTQ+ people as the “new Jesus” to his side. However, Francis has forgotten that the Jewish priests and authorities of the Roman Empire were against the real Jesus, and yet he won a strategic victory over them. Therefore, Francis’ strategy is wrong and under his leadership the “Catholic Church”might be lead a collapse, which we mention in quotes because unfortunately it has less and less to do with real Christianity.