“Gay people have the right to a family and to a normal citizenship”.
Yesterday Pope Francis gave hopes to all those LGBT+ people in Italy who are still waiting on a proper law that would protect them and give them dignity in a country that has still got a lot to do in terms of equal rights.
Toda – instead – after all the astonishment that Pope Francis’ words caused both to those conservative bigots and to the LGBT+ population around the world, here we have a little stop to all that joy:
“Be careful not to reach wider consequences than the premises. Francis simply says that if two people, even of the same sex, decide to live together, in a form of stable coexistence, they have the right to ensure that their choices are protected. But does not in any way open to marriage between homosexuals, knowing full well that there can be no confusion between the family willed by God, which is the union between a man and a woman open to procreation, and any other type of union “, said Monsignor Marcello Semeraro.
He also added: “Perhaps it is the first time that he (the Pope) speaks of it so explicitly, but his words follow a path already opened previously in particular within the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia “, he explains.” People matter more than their historical determinations. So everyone, including homosexuals, has the right of citizenship in the Church. Then, as mentioned, attention must also be paid to what the Pope does not say. Precisely, ‘latius hos quam premissae conclusio non vult’, that is, essentially, that the conclusion must not be wider than the premises”.
Therefore Pope Francis does not go beyond what the Church has always said and reiterated. Francis does not distort doctrine, he is faithful to it. He knows what the Catechism of the Church says and shares it. On the sacramental reality of marriage, some concepts need to be reiterated. Juridical language goes in one direction, but for the Church marriage is not just a juridical contract, it is quite another thing, higher.
Well, surely we all appreciate his words and the friendly behaviour he is showing the world towards the LGBT+ community, but what were we really expecting from the Head of the Catholic Church?
In my opinion, the problem is that someone expects something from the Pope or from whoever else. We must expect something from the state and its laws.
Well, we all know that the Italian Government is strongly influenced by the State of Vatican and Catholic Church in general, and this would already be a big opening to LGBT+ civil-partnerships normalisation. Then, on the other side, you are perfectly right, it is the Government and the State of each country – in this case Italy – that has to really work towards equal rights for all citizens.