The Pope, The Gay Lobby & How The Media Got it Wrong
Pope Francis said an extraordinary thing on his trip back to the Vatican, and as usual, the media and those pushing the homosexual agenda twisted his words. While on his way back to the Vatican yesterday, the Pope entertained the press for about an hour and a half and answered many questions. The one that made the most waves, and is being twisted the most, was his comment: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
The Pope’s comment was based on a question he was asked about a “gay lobby” in the Vatican, one the Vatican has always denied, but that the Pope acknowledged back in June. This “gay lobby” is reported to use extortion against members of the Church hierarchy if they are caught in gay relationships. So, a question was posed about it to the Pope on the flight. It was the last question asked, about charges of homosexual conduct against his recently appointed delegate to reform the Vatican bank.
The Pope answered it by saying that the problem was the lobbying, not the “inclination” to homosexuality. This is where his quote came in. Reports went out far and wide that the Pope had said that gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten, and that we should not “judge” those who are gay. That isn’t what he said, or even meant.
So what did he mean when he said that, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Nothing that is the antithesis of Scripture. As I have written before, we are called to judge the actions, not the hearts of others. Often Christians are clubbed over the head with “you can’t judge me”, usually by people who are doing the wrong thing and don’t want to hear about it. They are wrong. We are far from told not to judge, what we are told is not to be hypocrites about it.
The most used Scripture is Matthew 7:1-5
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
That passage is taken out of context, because the real meaning isn’t in completely in what Jesus said as much as who he said it to. His target audience are the hypocrites. Re-read verse 5 “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus is warning them that it is a sin to judge when they are doing the exact same thing, not saying that we can’t judge at all.
