“It is painful to say this today: People speak of varied families, of various kinds of family. [But] the family, man and woman in the image of God is the only one.” – Pope Francis

This was a recent “off script” statement by Pope Francis during a meeting with a group at the Vatican. Had the statement been prepared, he probably would have mentioned children in that family, as a man and a woman in a marriage or a relationship is not really a family yet. They are certainly a couple and if married, they are husband and wife, but to become a family, they need a child. But the pope was speaking from his heart on this matter and therefore, we cannot criticize him for anything less than perfect accuracy. I think he was actually refuting two modern lies. One lie is that two people of the same sex can enter into a marriage. Marriage is between one man and one woman. The other lie is that children raised by two people in a same-sex relationship are just fine and that same-sex couples can have a family. I think Pope Francis simply combined the two in the process of speaking and it came out a little jumbled. But he is right. Same-sex couples cannot marry and they cannot create a family. 

LGBT advocates immediately countered Francis’ statement.

Out at St. Paul is actually an LGBT group in St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in New York City. Yeah, that is a head scratcher, isn’t it? An LGBT advocacy group who has standing in a Catholic parish. They posted a link to The Advocate, a publication which advocates for LGBT rights, acceptance and prominence.

I posted the following as a comment under their link:

Within a minute, the “Catholic” LGBT group removed my post. So I posted this:

They removed that one within seconds. Isn’t it interesting that instead of discussion, dialogue and courtesy, all the group does is delete? I think that speaks volumes about their intent and their lack of facts to support their cause. I actually received more courtesy and interest in dialogue when I posted something similar under something posted by a secular radio station on this very matter. It is interesting that the secular population is actually more tolerant and more open to dialogue than the LGBT “Catholic” groups like Out at St. Paul’s.

The Catholic Church actually does have an official ministry for LGBT Catholics and even non-Catholics who wish to pursue Christ instead of their temptations and sexual desires. The group is called Courage International (www.couragerc.org). The people at Courage will tell you the truth about homosexuality and what the Catholic Church actually teaches.

In Courage, you will learn that same-sex attraction is not immoral, nor is it a sin. In fact, as a married man, I have a moral and Christian obligation to remain faithful to my wife. However, like all human beings, there are occasions when I can see a beautiful woman and feel attracted. The feeling is not immoral or sinful, but if I acted on it, or put myself in situations where the feeling would occur more often, it would be immoral and sinful. The people at Courage help people find ways to repent and remain chaste. And in spite of misleading propaganda about Courage, there are many men and women who have found great peace and a deep relationship with Christ through Courage.

Groups like Out at St. Paul simply glorify homosexual behavior and advocate for more acceptance of immorality. They should be removed from all Catholic parishes and forced to admit that they are not Catholic in any way, shape or form. There is one way to deal with immorality and sin and that is to repent and turn away from it, not to advocate for it.