How New Cardinals Appointed by Francis Might Impact LGBT "Catholics"
The quest to normalize the sodomites continues. Francis is not Pope folks and the stage is being set for the False Prophet's arrival and the formal schism.
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Pope Francis named seventeen new cardinals yesterday, and his selections will impact LGBT issues both by who was named — and who was not.
Francis also named ten bishops from ten other countries, reported the National Catholic Reporter:
- Archbishop Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Syria
- Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, CSSp. of Bangui (Central African Republic)
- Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid (Spain0
- Archbishop Sérgio da Rocha of Brasilia (Brazil)
- Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario, CSC of Dhaka (Bangladesh)
- Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Mérida (Venezuela)
- Archbishop Jozef De Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels (Belgium)
- Archbishop Maurice Piat of Port-Louis (Mauritius)
- Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla (Mexico)
- Archbishop John Ribat, M.S.C. of Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)
How might these new cardinals impact LGBT issues in the church, especially in the United States? I offer five thoughts.
First, the three U.S. bishops named each have very pastoral reputations. Archbishop Cupich has previously called for the church to respect lesbian and gay people’s consciences and said every family deserves legal protections. A participant at the 2015 Synod on the Family, Cupich told Bondings 2.0 that hearing from same-gender couples would have benefited the assembly. Admittedly, Cupich’s record on LGBT issues is not perfect. He has not overturned the firings of two music ministers in his archdiocese, Colin Collette and Sandor Demkovich.
Archbishop Tobin (not to be confused with the highly LGBT-negative Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island) joined Cupich and other bishops last year in criticizing priorities set forth by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which focused on marriage and religious liberty, because they were inconsistent with Pope Francis’ vision. When a referendum banning same-gender marriage was proposed in Indiana, Tobin’s response avoided the hyperbolic and pastorally harmful language of so many bishops; indeed, the archdiocesan spokesperson said Catholics “have the right to make their own decisions on these issues.” He also defended U.S. women religious when the Vatican launched its investigations against them, in part for their support of LGBT equality.
Bishop Farrell, originally from Ireland, developed a pastoral reputation while in Dallas. He is now charged with merging and managing the many offices now formed into the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, a central focus of which will be the reception of Amoris Laetitia. He could greatly impact how the church responds to and pastorally cares for LGBT Catholics and their families in the many global contexts in which the church exists.
Worth noting, too, are the affirming words from Belgian Archbishop Jozef De Kesel, who last year said he had “much respect for gays. . . [and] their way of living their sexuality.”
Second, bishops from the United States whom the pope omitted are significant. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles would normally be named because their sees traditionally receive the red hat. But these three bishops have spearheaded the U.S. bishops’ campaign against marriage equality and LGBT rights, neglecting issues valued far more by this pope. And because Chaput has so narrowly interpreted Amoris Laetitia, he has essentially rejected the document which is the pope’s apostolic exhortation on family life that emerged from the Synod on the Family.
Third, taken together these appointments may propel wider shifts in the direction of the U.S. church. Raising the profile of bishops who are more pastorally inclined and have avoided the culture wars, while omitting bishops comfortable with the current episcopal establishment, is a very strong statement from Pope Francis. This November, the USCCB will vote for new leadership. It will be interesting to see whether the bishops have finally accepted that we really are living in the age of Pope Francis.
Fourth, this further changes the math in the College of Cardinals which will impact the conclave when Pope Francis eventually dies or resigns. Many Catholic observers have said the pope’s reforms will only last if his successor pursues a similar path. With these new cardinals, Francis has now named 44 of 123 cardinals eligible to be electors.
Fifth, even if these appointments are positive step, the pope’s record on LGBT issues and church reform more generally remains mixed. He is certainly an improvement on his predecessors, but shifts in style must at some point be matched by more substantive changes. Hopefully, these new cardinals will return to their local churches and advance the concrete enactment of Francis’ merciful and pastoral vision.