Sydney Archdiocese reacts to Pope’s gay comments

The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney has expressed conditional support for gay people, in the wake of comments by Pope Francis, which have been widely interpreted as a thawing in official Roman Catholic attitudes towards gays.

Last week, during an in-flight news conference en route to the Vatican from Brazil, where he had attended World Youth Day, the Pope said he was not in a position to judge gays, and that homosexuals should be embraced.

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Pope Francis asked.

The Pontiff went on to say that gay people are “our brothers and sisters” who “should not be marginalised”, and that gays and lesbians should be “treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity, without discrimination”.

Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell was in South America at press time and unavailable for comment, but a spokesperson for the Archdiocese said the Papal remarks reflected the longstanding position of the Catholic Church – not an actual change in attitudes towards gay people.

“Speaking about homosexuality, the Pope was repeating the classic Catholic teaching which is found in tradition and found in the catechism of the Catholic Church,” said the spokesperson.

“Sexual orientation one way or another is morally irrelevant. What is important is how this is acted out, and the Pope repeated that traditional Christian teaching is that sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage is not recommended and not permitted by Christians.”

The spokesperson added: “Pope Francis [said] homosexuals must be respected and loved the same as any other person and they are certainly not to be condemned.

“It is also important to recognise the Catholic Church’s defence of marriage is not reduced to an attack on homosexuality.”

Surry Hills parishioner David Flanagan, who is both gay and Catholic, said the Pope’s words brought him some comfort even though “they were really along the lines of the church’s typical ‘love the sinner, not the sin’ shtick”.

“It’s true the Pope’s comments signal no real change in Church dogma but what’s new is a Pope vocalising this,” said Mr Flanagan, who attends St Peter’s Catholic Church on Devonshire St.

“No previous Pope said things like ‘gays are our brothers and sisters’ so it’s a change in tone from the Catholic hierarchy.”

Reverend Karl Hand, who is both a pastor at the Crave Metropolitan Community Church, which is inclusive of GLBTI people, and a co-convenor of Community Action Against Homophobia, said he believed the Pontiff’s comment’s were significant but not a cause for celebration.

“While [his comments] absolutely represent a major shift from the more brazenly homophobic comments of the previous Pope to kinder and more respectful dialogue, the implication that gay people require special pity and compassion is insulting,” said Rev Hand.

“I prefer the recent statement of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said: ‘I would not worship a homophobic God. If heaven is homophobic, I would choose the other place instead’.”

Rev Hand said the idea that you can’t be a gay Christian was a “stubborn old lie that is past its use by date”.

“Christianity’s anti-woman and homophobic legacy dates back to the Dark Ages, as the church was acquiring political power in Europe. It was a betrayal of the message of Jesus Christ, who treated women with equal dignity to men, and always sided with the marginalised and oppressed in society to the point where the political establishment ended up killing him for it,” he said.

Rev Hand said he hoped Pope Francis would “turn his good words into actions” and begin to oppose homophobic actions and policies within the Vatican.