Catholic Archdiocese of DC insinuates Jesus says “No” to gay marriage because its like incest & sex with animals
”It occurred to me to wonder what Jesus would say about the redefining of Marriage that is happening in this country of the last number of years? Many today insist that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality or so-called Gay Marriage…. I am using here the Catholic NAB translation: ‘[Jesus said] whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.’ (Matt 19:9) … Now the phrase, ‘unless the marriage is unlawful’ translates a Greek word πορνείᾳ (porneia). The usual meaning of the word is ‘fornication’… many Greek lexicons (e.g. Strongs and also Thayer & Smith) define porneia broadly as ‘illicit sexual intercourse’ and then go on to define porneia more generally to include, fornication, homosexual activitity, lesbian activity, intercourse with animals, sexual intercourse with close relatives ( as spelled out in Leviticus 18), or sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman…. So, fundamentally porneia most often means fornication (pre-marital sex) but it can mean other illicit things as well…. Gentiles often called “marriage” what the Judeo-Christians would call incest. There were also difficulties encountered with homosexual unions and other arrangements that the Christian Church could not and would not recognize…. Bottom line: Jesus would say ‘No’ I have it on the best of authority: Scripture and Tradition speaking through the Magisterium.”
Words from Monsignor Charles Pope who again writes with loose logic for the official blog of the Archdiocese of Washington. Pope in particular has exhibited much anger with the DC City Council, the gay community and its supporters for successfully moving toward full, equal and legal marriage rights for gay men and lesbians in the District of Columbia. (Archdiocese of Washington)
His commentary was written on the Tuesday, December 15, the evening after the City Council voted a second time to approve of same-sex marriage. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the bill into law on Friday at a Unitarian Universalist Church.
The Catholic Church leadership has been using “religious freedom” as an excuse for its discriminatory beliefs which, as they have stated in no uncertain terms, includes not providing health benefits to partners of its own gay employees and not providing adoption services to legally married same-sex couples. Flip through the last couple months worth of blog entries at the Archdiocese’s site and it appears to indicate that their indignant stance has less to do with freedom and more to do with rather mean-spirited religious beliefs like the ones Monsignor Charles Pope expresses above.
Representatives of the Archdiocese have repeatedly said Councilmembers are “forcing” Catholic Charities to stop providing services to the needy, and testified that the same-sex marriage bill “hurts children, families, men and women who” depend on their services. For context, though, Mr Pope, in an unrelated entry also claimed to have once run a demon out of his pews.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
