![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2021\/03\/Cover-555-x-832-131K.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
[book and purchase information<\/a>]<\/p>\n All words are those of Pope Francis (both before and during his papacy), except for additional text in blue<\/span>.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n 1)\u00a0In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family\u2026At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God\u2019s law engraved in our hearts.<\/p>\n Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God\u2019s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a \u2018move\u2019 of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God. . . .<\/p>\n Today the country, in this particular situation, needs the special assistance of the Holy Spirit to bring the light of truth on to the darkness of error, it need this advocate to defend us from being enchanted by many fallacies that are tried at all costs to justify this bill and to confuse and deceive the people of good will. . . .<\/p>\n I invoke the Lord to send his Spirit on senators who will be voting, that they do not act in error or out of expediency, but according to what the natural law and the law of God shows them . . .<\/p>\n We look to Saint Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus and ask that they fervently defend the family in Argentina at this particular time. We remember what God said to his people in a moment of great anguish: \u2018This war is not yours, but God\u2019s\u2019: defend us, then, in this war of God. (opposition to same-sex \u201cmarriage\u201d in Argentina, as reported by Edward Pentin,<\/span> \u201cCardinal Bergoglio Hits Out at Same-Sex Marriage\u201d<\/a>, National Catholic Register<\/em>, 7-8-10)<\/span><\/p>\n 2)\u00a0Report: Pope Excommunicates Priest for Supporting Gay Marriage, Female Priest<\/a>\u00a0(Dr. Susan Berry,\u00a0Breitbart<\/i>, 9-24-13)<\/span><\/p>\n 3)<\/p>\n The Pope is \u201cshocked\u201d by Malta\u2019s Civil Unions Bill, which will allow gay couples to adopt children, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna has told The Sunday Times of Malta.<\/span><\/p>\n Defending his decision to use his Christmas homily to reiterate that a family had to be built around a man and a woman, Mgr Scicluna said he had aired these concerns with Pope Francis when he met him on December 12.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe discussed many aspects\u2026and when I raised the issue that\u2019s worrying me as a bishop [the right for gay couples to adopt] he encouraged me to speak out,\u201d Bishop Scicluna said. (Ariadne Massa,<\/span>\u201cPope shocked by same-sex adoptions legislation\u201d<\/a>,\u00a0Times of Malta<\/em>, 12-29-13)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 4) [T]he family is hit, that the family is knocked and that the family is debased.\u2026 Can everything be called a family? How \u2026 much relativism there is in the concept of the Sacrament of Marriage! . . . What they are proposing is not marriage, it is an association, but it is not marriage! It is necessary to say things very clearly and we must say this! . . . [he condemned]<\/span> new forms, totally destructive [of marriage]<\/span>. . . .\u00a0family is a family . . . [an]<\/span> anthropological fact [that]<\/span> can\u2019t be qualified by ideological notions. (reported by Paul Kengor,<\/span> \u201cPope Francis Shocks Liberals on Same-Sex \u2018Marriage'\u201d<\/a>, Crisis Magazine<\/em>, 1-23-15)<\/span><\/p>\n 5)<\/p>\n In an\u00a0 address to more than 1,000 Filipino families in Manila on Jan. 16, Pope Francis decried the<\/span> \u201cnew ideological colonization that tries to destroy the family.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pope also warned against increasing efforts<\/span> \u201cto redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life.\u201d<\/p>\n The Holy Father made similar statements in defense of marriage earlier in the day, as he said Mass in Manila\u2019s cathedral:<\/span> \u201cProclaim the beauty and truth of the Christian message to a society which is tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family.\u201d<\/p>\n He then warned the faithful against<\/span> \u201cpowerful forces which threaten to disfigure God\u2019s plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture.\u201d (Ann Schneible,<\/span>\u201cGay marriage is \u2018ideological colonization,\u2019 says Vatican spokesman\u201d<\/a>, Catholic News Agency<\/em>, 1-16-15)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 6) Junno Arocho Esteves,<\/span> \u201cPope Francis: Removal of Differences Between Man and Woman Is the Problem, Not the Solution\u201d<\/a>, Zenit<\/em>, 4-15-15)<\/span><\/p>\n 7)\u00a0I greet the pilgrims from Slovakia and, through them, I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church, encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family, the vital cell of society. (cited in J. Lester Feder,<\/span> \u201cPope Endorses Referendum Denying Marriage And Adoption Rights To Same-Sex Couples\u201d<\/a>, BuzzFeed News<\/em>, 2-4-15, referring to a referendum<\/span> in Slovakia<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n 8)\u00a0I wish to encourage all Slovenians, especially those in public capacity, to preserve the family as the basic unit of society. (cited in Robert Shine,<\/span> \u201cSlovenia Rejects Marriage Equality with Pope Francis\u2019 Blessing\u201d<\/a>,\u00a0New Ways Ministry<\/em>, 12-22-15)<\/span><\/p>\n 9) You, Irina, mentioned a great enemy to marriage today: the theory of\u00a0gender<\/i>. Today there is a world war to destroy marriage. Today there are ideological colonisations which destroy, not with weapons, but with ideas. Therefore, there is a need to defend ourselves from ideological colonisations. (<\/span>Address, 10-1-16<\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 10)<\/p>\n Pope Francis\u2019 new document on love in the family is welcome particularly for its steadfast adherence to Church teaching on homosexual acts and relationships, Cardinal Christoph Sch\u00f6nborn of Vienna said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s another point in which (Pope Francis) is very firm: speaking about gay couples or homosexual couples, he insists very clearly that only the union between a man and woman, open to new life, by principle, can be called a marriage,\u201d the cardinal told CNA April 8 during an interview shortly after leading the press conference presenting\u00a0Amoris Laetitia<\/em>\u00a0at the Vatican.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m very happy that he did clarify this, because the other situations can be partnerships, relationships, but it\u2019s certainly not a marriage.\u201d (<\/span>\u201cCardinal Sch\u00f6nborn praises \u2018Amoris Laetitia\u2019 stance on gay marriage\u201d<\/a>, Catholic News Agency<\/em>, 4-8-16)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 11)\u00a052. No one can think that the weakening of\u00a0the family as that natural society founded on\u00a0marriage will prove beneficial to society as a\u00a0whole. The contrary is true: it poses a threat to\u00a0the mature growth of individuals, the cultivation\u00a0of community values and the moral progress of\u00a0cities and countries. There is a failure to realize\u00a0that only the exclusive and indissoluble union between a man and a woman has a plenary role to play in society as a stable commitment that bears\u00a0fruit in new life. We need to acknowledge the\u00a0great variety of family situations that can offer a certain stability, but de facto or same-sex unions,\u00a0for example, may not simply be equated with\u00a0marriage. No union that is temporary or closed to the transmission of life can ensure the future\u00a0of society . . .<\/p>\n 56. Yet another challenge is posed by the various forms of an ideology of gender that \u201cdenies the difference and reciprocity in nature of\u00a0a man and a woman and envisages a society\u00a0without sexual differences, thereby eliminating\u00a0the anthropological basis of the family. This\u00a0ideology leads to educational programmes and\u00a0legislative enactments that promote a personal\u00a0identity and emotional intimacy radically separated from the biological difference between male\u00a0and female. Consequently, human identity becomes the choice of the individual, one which\u00a0can also change over time\u201d. It is a source of\u00a0concern that some ideologies of this sort, which\u00a0seek to respond to what are at times understandable aspirations, manage to assert themselves as\u00a0absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how\u00a0children should be raised.<\/p>\n 121. Marriage is a precious sign, for \u201cwhen a\u00a0man and a woman celebrate the sacrament of\u00a0marriage, God is, as it were, \u2018mirrored\u2019 in them;\u00a0he impresses in them his own features and the indelible character of his love.<\/p>\n 251. In discussing the dignity and mission of\u00a0the family, the Synod Fathers observed that, \u201cas\u00a0for proposals to place unions between homosexual persons on the same level as marriage,\u00a0there are absolutely no grounds for considering\u00a0homosexual unions to be in any way similar or\u00a0even remotely analogous to God\u2019s plan for marriage and family\u201d. It is unacceptable \u201cthat local\u00a0Churches should be subjected to pressure in\u00a0this matter and that international bodies should\u00a0make financial aid to poor countries dependent\u00a0on the introduction of laws to establish \u2018marriage\u2019 between persons of the same sex\u201d.<\/p>\n 292. Christian marriage, as a reflection of the\u00a0union between Christ and his Church, is fully\u00a0realized in the union between a man and a woman who give themselves to each other in a free,\u00a0faithful and exclusive love, who belong to each\u00a0other until death and are open to the transmission of life, and are consecrated by the sacrament, which grants them the grace to become\u00a0a domestic church and a leaven of new life for\u00a0society. Some forms of union radically contradict this ideal, while others realize it in at least a\u00a0partial and analogous way. The Synod Fathers\u00a0stated that the Church does not disregard the\u00a0constructive elements in those situations which\u00a0do not yet or no longer correspond to her teaching on marriage. (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation<\/span> Amoris Laetitia<\/em><\/a>, 3-19-16)<\/span><\/p>\n 12)\u00a0Marriage is between a man and a woman. (<\/span>\u201cTranscript: Pope Francis\u2019 March 5 interview with Corriere della Sera\u201d<\/a>, Catholic News Agency<\/em>, 3-5-14)<\/span><\/p>\n 13)\u00a0Let\u2019s think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation. With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator, . . . (cited in\u00a0Joshua J. McElwee,<\/span> \u201cFrancis strongly criticizes gender theory, comparing it to nuclear arms\u201d<\/a>, National Catholic Reporter<\/em>, 2-13-15)<\/span><\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Any questions?<\/p>\n Related Reading<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Lawler vs. Pope Francis #2: Homosexuality & \u201cJudging\u201d<\/a> [1-2-18]<\/p>\n Pope Francis, Same-Sex Unions, & Chicken Little Mass Hysteria<\/a>\u00a0[10-22-20]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n