Don't go by the caveats. The Vatican announcement allowing priests to bless same-sex couples is meteoric. And it's crushing to the MAGA Republican-dominated American Catholic church hierarchy.
I am an alum of Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Gonzaga is a Jesuit university. In the most recent Alumni Magazine, photos of alums who are celebrating their marriages are published. It warmed my heart to see two gay couples having their marriage celebrated with a Jesuit priest in the photograph.
He's not gay but he is doing something no Pope before him as ever done. I know from having been a religious in an Italian religious community in Italy from Oct 1991-Feb 6, 1996 and living on one of the 7 Suburbs of Rome. The thing people do not know is that the Pope has Rome and the 7 suburbs that he personally tends to as his position of Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The stance of the church then as now is that gays are welcome if they follow the rules of the Church regarding Homosexuality. Meaning you must be celibate to participate as one of the faithful. Even if you are not a religious, a priest. But for him to say priests can bless gay couples who are married, and are members of the church body is HUGE. It flies in the face of the American Bishop's conference in DC who have been obstinate against every pope that has been since I found out about them in 1990 when I lived in Washington DC. That conference think they are a law unto themselves. That conference was MAGA before we knew there was such a thing. But this is a game changer. Even those teachers the American branch of the Catholic church has kicked out of schools, been denied communion, now see something no one ever dreamed would happen in their life time. Just as when I was 8 years old in 1964. living in Germany and the Berlin Wall was a reality that I never thought would be brought down and it happened.. here we are again! Light shins in the darkness. I told me husband that is going to be for those in the Catholic Church. We do not belong to it and it is not necessary for us. But Kudos to Pope Francis for making the world a bit brighter.
I left the Church in 1998 as a single Gay man because I realized I was here to live a full life as a Gay person, meaning the choice to fall in love and get married and be respected. I never looked back.
Anthony, same here! I've been thinking this for a while now, and this latest development only makes me wonder even more of that's the case. Either he's queer or he's a disrupter of the shadiest kind 😂 Either way, I'm here for it!
And what really pisses me off? Is how many "Liberal Democrat" Roman Catholics kept making excuses for Ratzi the Nazi, but are offended! Yes, OFFENDED! That Pope Francis should choose to move the Church away from its "traditional" bigoted and wealth-worshipping stances.
I've said it before already, but these are the same people who eagerly championed Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016 while claiming Bernie Sanders was "Too Extreme" and "Not a REAL Democrat". I still believe if Bernie had been the Democratic Candidate in 2016, he'd have mopped the floor with Trump because he's also aware of why so much of Middle America (where Hillary lost?) is angry and upset—but unlike Trump, he actually had a path forward.
The same path which Joe Biden is half-assedly, but surprisingly, following....
It would be my way of giving back for all you do for us…. Your listeners. I’ve been a subscriber for about 20 years starting with Out Q. Your show has been an important part of information and analysis. Ty.
I'm not Catholic, but when I saw the headlines that said the pope said it was okay to bless same-sex relationships, I thought, "Cool." I thought it might also make some folks' heads explode.
Then I saw a post on Twitter/X where someone--I forget who it was--was attacking the pope viciously because the pope had said that it was okay to bless same-sex relationships as long as they didn't look in any way like a marriage. Again, I didn't care enough to research the details, but I thought if that is correct, that is messed up because a same-sex relationship really is a marriage, so how could any relationship be eligible to be blessed?
I had mostly forgotten about the whole thing until I was driving in the car this week and caught part of your radio show where you were talking about this being a good thing and you explained about the two parts to a marriage--the contract and the ritual/ceremony, and I thought, "okay, I get that."
To be honest I was one of the folks who welcomed the legalization of same-sex marriages, but I also wondered why gay people would want to emulate a heterosexual institution anyway. I did admit that marriage was the institution our society had to recognize intimate relationships, so, I suppose, that was how same-sex relationships had to be framed. I accepted that even if sometimes I thought some of the ways people celebrated same-sex relationships did feel like a pale imitation of a straight celebration. It was weird for me to hear men talking about their husbands and women talking about their wives. I'll admit that could be internalized homophobia on my part, but it also felt like gay couples were playing house. Our relationships deserve to be recognized, but I thought maybe we needed a new institution for recognizing our relationships or maybe just new terms to describe our relationships, though I didn't have a solution or anything to offer, so I figured, "Great, we can get married."
I keep coming back to a quote from Barbara Hammer where she said:
"We finally have the foundation of a culture, we have traced our histories, let us not make marriage and human rights erase us into a vast homogenization of the human race."
Well said Thomas! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 As a (relatively) straight cisgender Black woman, I too have no use for the hegemonic, heteronormative institution of marriage and initially felt conflicted by queer folks' determination to embrace it. But I also understand that those of us on the margins must sometimes (or maybe ALL the time) infiltrate institutions in order to upend them. This latest move by Pope Francis is definitely an upendeding of the institution of marriage, and when I view it from that angle I'm here for it 100%!
What has been going on now with regard to LGBTQ+ people in local and state politics is exactly fascism.. and you are right we must all join in to fight against this darkness. Vote like your life depends on it. Fascism is bad for everyone especially those in minorities visible or not.
I’m also Catholic born and raised but non practicing, so my husband and I married in a civil ceremony and didn’t need “approval” from the church. Hopefully this will move some of those “devout” to (maybe) understand marriage is about love, commitment, respect and devotion between two people, regardless of sexual preference.
What would be most beneficial to the lgbtq plus community is if the Pope allowed every member of the clergy to come out publicly, without judgement. So many are still hidden.
Thank you for your analysis. I agree that this is big (lapsed catholic here). No priest will be forced to bless, as it is optional. You don't want to bless a same-sex union, then you don't have to! It's difficult to argue that this is horrible for priests or the church.
And they will soon find out that the laity really doesn't oppose this. In fact, most support marriage equality and are left wondering what the church's problem is. I see this as driving a wedge between the laity and the priesthood, which is very anti-gay. I don't see most catholics as being MAGA or conservative either, so this might cause some serious cleaving between the flock and the priesthood. I'm sure Francis realizes this, and he just gained a LOT of political goodwill to continue his reforms of the church, especially in the US>
One more point: Francis is cleverly attacking the priesthood caste in the US where they are both strongest and weakest. They are strong because of their anti-gay position, which gives them serious creds with the MAGA, Fox viewers, conservatives and so on. All of them are climate deniers, support tax cuts for the 1%, are pro-Putin and Pro-Orban, and everything else By taking this issue away from them, as you point out, and it drives a wedge between the Catholic Church and the evangelicals. The evangelicals never really trusted the "papists" and it's only a marriage of convenience. If they see the church as not being 100% supportive of their positions, they will turn on the church, or at least not see them as full partners, and they will be shunned in several ways. No more invites to exclusive resorts to hobnob with billionaires, for starters.
They are also weakest because Francis has one card in his hand that he can always play, and that is by outing the most homophobic of them. He needs only to do that once, and that will send a strong message -- either shut down the anti-gay rhetoric, or you will be outed, and Francis will find a way to remove you from the payroll.
Like you, Michaelangelo, I am not a practicing Catholic nor particularly religious. However, I celebrate this change ... especially if it gives heartburn to the Christo-fascist movement in America. My two favorite Catholics are now Pope Francis and Father Brown. While the latter may be fictional, both stand for justice and compassion, which is what I was always led to believe Jesus represented.
I believe the Pope is doing this now because he is alarmed by the growing international movement of hatred toward LGBT people. In the past we have been scorned (but hidden) in most societies. Today we are out of the closet, and therefore we are a visible target. The international Christian Nationalist movement, led by Vladimir Putin and Victor Orbán, and folks like Ron DeSantis and Fox News in this country, are getting more vicious every day in their attacks on sexual minorities. Pope Francis is obviously a decent human being, who I think wants to use his power to show the world the humanity of LGBT people, in order to help stave off another Nazi-like campaign against us.
Hey James, I must say that up until a few years ago, for my entire life I saw the arc of justice for LGBT people bending in the right direction. There were setbacks of course, including the AIDS horror…but even that helped, by breaking down closet doors - to know us is to love us, right? But this feels more dangerous now, because fascism is not only bad for Jews, but also really bad for gay and trans folks. While our visibility makes us easier prey, it also might save us, if our non-LGBT brothers and sisters (figuratively and literally), join us in large numbers in fighting against the Republican Christian Nationalist war on LGBT men, women, and children.
My wife sobbed with joy when this news hit. She is devoutly Catholic (ex-nun), and mulish stubborn about remaining Catholic. It's HER church and she's not about to be chased out by the bullies. So, this latest news is something she never thought she'd live to see (76 and cancer survivor). We'll probably ask our local priest for a blessing, even though I'm a resident atheist. But it would put her over the moon. We've been legally married since 2013, so a blessing would be the proverbial icing on our wedding cake.
The conservatives in the Catholic Church can go sit and spin for once. I doubt Francis is gay, but I hope he has a long-term relationship with a woman. He's pushing hard, which is miserable to do at age 87.
I love the clarity with which you lay this out Michelangelo. You're so right, this is HUGE! No matter what the Christian maga nationalists say or how they try to two-step around it, it's a political win for queer folks, and I hope every Catholic church everywhere is suddenly flooded with queer couples seeking blessings, if for no other reason than to shove it in the face of the right wingers 😁
I was raised Catholic but am no longer practicing. A recovered Catholic as I like to say. This can only be a positive for the Pope and the many priests who wish to be able to bless the LGBTQ couples in their congregations. It will also send my 83 old “devout” Catholic MAGA aunt into a tizzy! That’s a good thing lol!
I am an alum of Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Gonzaga is a Jesuit university. In the most recent Alumni Magazine, photos of alums who are celebrating their marriages are published. It warmed my heart to see two gay couples having their marriage celebrated with a Jesuit priest in the photograph.
Great article, Mike. My husband and I were having a discussion last night and we both thought the same thing… We’re wondering if the pope is gay.
He's not gay but he is doing something no Pope before him as ever done. I know from having been a religious in an Italian religious community in Italy from Oct 1991-Feb 6, 1996 and living on one of the 7 Suburbs of Rome. The thing people do not know is that the Pope has Rome and the 7 suburbs that he personally tends to as his position of Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The stance of the church then as now is that gays are welcome if they follow the rules of the Church regarding Homosexuality. Meaning you must be celibate to participate as one of the faithful. Even if you are not a religious, a priest. But for him to say priests can bless gay couples who are married, and are members of the church body is HUGE. It flies in the face of the American Bishop's conference in DC who have been obstinate against every pope that has been since I found out about them in 1990 when I lived in Washington DC. That conference think they are a law unto themselves. That conference was MAGA before we knew there was such a thing. But this is a game changer. Even those teachers the American branch of the Catholic church has kicked out of schools, been denied communion, now see something no one ever dreamed would happen in their life time. Just as when I was 8 years old in 1964. living in Germany and the Berlin Wall was a reality that I never thought would be brought down and it happened.. here we are again! Light shins in the darkness. I told me husband that is going to be for those in the Catholic Church. We do not belong to it and it is not necessary for us. But Kudos to Pope Francis for making the world a bit brighter.
I left the Church in 1998 as a single Gay man because I realized I was here to live a full life as a Gay person, meaning the choice to fall in love and get married and be respected. I never looked back.
This along with the Colorado State supreme Court taking Trump from the ballot in 2024...
Thank you for sharing your insight. 🙂
Anthony, same here! I've been thinking this for a while now, and this latest development only makes me wonder even more of that's the case. Either he's queer or he's a disrupter of the shadiest kind 😂 Either way, I'm here for it!
I vote "disrupter," personally. But that Ratzi, his predecessor? ...oh my I bet he's a nasty one.
And what really pisses me off? Is how many "Liberal Democrat" Roman Catholics kept making excuses for Ratzi the Nazi, but are offended! Yes, OFFENDED! That Pope Francis should choose to move the Church away from its "traditional" bigoted and wealth-worshipping stances.
I've said it before already, but these are the same people who eagerly championed Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016 while claiming Bernie Sanders was "Too Extreme" and "Not a REAL Democrat". I still believe if Bernie had been the Democratic Candidate in 2016, he'd have mopped the floor with Trump because he's also aware of why so much of Middle America (where Hillary lost?) is angry and upset—but unlike Trump, he actually had a path forward.
The same path which Joe Biden is half-assedly, but surprisingly, following....
I’m elated. The more misery that MAGA experiences confirms that Karma works in the universe.
Neil, exactly!! 😂
👍
Great article!
I love wearing this rainbow flag T everywhere I go: t.co/KLS4Wyl6Eo
Also Mike, you may know I drive as a side gig in DC. If ever your in town and need to get around… reach out I’d be happy to 🚙 you around.
It would be my way of giving back for all you do for us…. Your listeners. I’ve been a subscriber for about 20 years starting with Out Q. Your show has been an important part of information and analysis. Ty.
I'm not Catholic, but when I saw the headlines that said the pope said it was okay to bless same-sex relationships, I thought, "Cool." I thought it might also make some folks' heads explode.
Then I saw a post on Twitter/X where someone--I forget who it was--was attacking the pope viciously because the pope had said that it was okay to bless same-sex relationships as long as they didn't look in any way like a marriage. Again, I didn't care enough to research the details, but I thought if that is correct, that is messed up because a same-sex relationship really is a marriage, so how could any relationship be eligible to be blessed?
I had mostly forgotten about the whole thing until I was driving in the car this week and caught part of your radio show where you were talking about this being a good thing and you explained about the two parts to a marriage--the contract and the ritual/ceremony, and I thought, "okay, I get that."
To be honest I was one of the folks who welcomed the legalization of same-sex marriages, but I also wondered why gay people would want to emulate a heterosexual institution anyway. I did admit that marriage was the institution our society had to recognize intimate relationships, so, I suppose, that was how same-sex relationships had to be framed. I accepted that even if sometimes I thought some of the ways people celebrated same-sex relationships did feel like a pale imitation of a straight celebration. It was weird for me to hear men talking about their husbands and women talking about their wives. I'll admit that could be internalized homophobia on my part, but it also felt like gay couples were playing house. Our relationships deserve to be recognized, but I thought maybe we needed a new institution for recognizing our relationships or maybe just new terms to describe our relationships, though I didn't have a solution or anything to offer, so I figured, "Great, we can get married."
I keep coming back to a quote from Barbara Hammer where she said:
"We finally have the foundation of a culture, we have traced our histories, let us not make marriage and human rights erase us into a vast homogenization of the human race."
Well said Thomas! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 As a (relatively) straight cisgender Black woman, I too have no use for the hegemonic, heteronormative institution of marriage and initially felt conflicted by queer folks' determination to embrace it. But I also understand that those of us on the margins must sometimes (or maybe ALL the time) infiltrate institutions in order to upend them. This latest move by Pope Francis is definitely an upendeding of the institution of marriage, and when I view it from that angle I'm here for it 100%!
Marc
What has been going on now with regard to LGBTQ+ people in local and state politics is exactly fascism.. and you are right we must all join in to fight against this darkness. Vote like your life depends on it. Fascism is bad for everyone especially those in minorities visible or not.
Glad you’re feeling better Michelangelo.👍
I’m also Catholic born and raised but non practicing, so my husband and I married in a civil ceremony and didn’t need “approval” from the church. Hopefully this will move some of those “devout” to (maybe) understand marriage is about love, commitment, respect and devotion between two people, regardless of sexual preference.
What would be most beneficial to the lgbtq plus community is if the Pope allowed every member of the clergy to come out publicly, without judgement. So many are still hidden.
Thank you for your analysis. I agree that this is big (lapsed catholic here). No priest will be forced to bless, as it is optional. You don't want to bless a same-sex union, then you don't have to! It's difficult to argue that this is horrible for priests or the church.
And they will soon find out that the laity really doesn't oppose this. In fact, most support marriage equality and are left wondering what the church's problem is. I see this as driving a wedge between the laity and the priesthood, which is very anti-gay. I don't see most catholics as being MAGA or conservative either, so this might cause some serious cleaving between the flock and the priesthood. I'm sure Francis realizes this, and he just gained a LOT of political goodwill to continue his reforms of the church, especially in the US>
One more point: Francis is cleverly attacking the priesthood caste in the US where they are both strongest and weakest. They are strong because of their anti-gay position, which gives them serious creds with the MAGA, Fox viewers, conservatives and so on. All of them are climate deniers, support tax cuts for the 1%, are pro-Putin and Pro-Orban, and everything else By taking this issue away from them, as you point out, and it drives a wedge between the Catholic Church and the evangelicals. The evangelicals never really trusted the "papists" and it's only a marriage of convenience. If they see the church as not being 100% supportive of their positions, they will turn on the church, or at least not see them as full partners, and they will be shunned in several ways. No more invites to exclusive resorts to hobnob with billionaires, for starters.
They are also weakest because Francis has one card in his hand that he can always play, and that is by outing the most homophobic of them. He needs only to do that once, and that will send a strong message -- either shut down the anti-gay rhetoric, or you will be outed, and Francis will find a way to remove you from the payroll.
Like you, Michaelangelo, I am not a practicing Catholic nor particularly religious. However, I celebrate this change ... especially if it gives heartburn to the Christo-fascist movement in America. My two favorite Catholics are now Pope Francis and Father Brown. While the latter may be fictional, both stand for justice and compassion, which is what I was always led to believe Jesus represented.
Non practicing Catholic here as well.
Ditto
Not a Catholic, but the implications are huge as you rightly point out, Mr S!
Don't know who you are or what this garbage is supposed to mean, but please leave me alone!
Stop this now you nutcase. I have reported you to Substack and you WILL be removed.
I believe the Pope is doing this now because he is alarmed by the growing international movement of hatred toward LGBT people. In the past we have been scorned (but hidden) in most societies. Today we are out of the closet, and therefore we are a visible target. The international Christian Nationalist movement, led by Vladimir Putin and Victor Orbán, and folks like Ron DeSantis and Fox News in this country, are getting more vicious every day in their attacks on sexual minorities. Pope Francis is obviously a decent human being, who I think wants to use his power to show the world the humanity of LGBT people, in order to help stave off another Nazi-like campaign against us.
Growing movement? no it is just more broadcast. and with the internet, cell phones, etc. we can see it more up close and personal.
Hey James, I must say that up until a few years ago, for my entire life I saw the arc of justice for LGBT people bending in the right direction. There were setbacks of course, including the AIDS horror…but even that helped, by breaking down closet doors - to know us is to love us, right? But this feels more dangerous now, because fascism is not only bad for Jews, but also really bad for gay and trans folks. While our visibility makes us easier prey, it also might save us, if our non-LGBT brothers and sisters (figuratively and literally), join us in large numbers in fighting against the Republican Christian Nationalist war on LGBT men, women, and children.
Thank you for pointing out the significance of this from the doctrinal perspective. It truly is seismic.
My wife sobbed with joy when this news hit. She is devoutly Catholic (ex-nun), and mulish stubborn about remaining Catholic. It's HER church and she's not about to be chased out by the bullies. So, this latest news is something she never thought she'd live to see (76 and cancer survivor). We'll probably ask our local priest for a blessing, even though I'm a resident atheist. But it would put her over the moon. We've been legally married since 2013, so a blessing would be the proverbial icing on our wedding cake.
The conservatives in the Catholic Church can go sit and spin for once. I doubt Francis is gay, but I hope he has a long-term relationship with a woman. He's pushing hard, which is miserable to do at age 87.
I love the clarity with which you lay this out Michelangelo. You're so right, this is HUGE! No matter what the Christian maga nationalists say or how they try to two-step around it, it's a political win for queer folks, and I hope every Catholic church everywhere is suddenly flooded with queer couples seeking blessings, if for no other reason than to shove it in the face of the right wingers 😁
I was raised Catholic but am no longer practicing. A recovered Catholic as I like to say. This can only be a positive for the Pope and the many priests who wish to be able to bless the LGBTQ couples in their congregations. It will also send my 83 old “devout” Catholic MAGA aunt into a tizzy! That’s a good thing lol!