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Pope Francis trended most of last week. He set off a volcano that turned out to be a slapdash on the Christian faith when he directed his lieutenants to bless gay couples.
It was shocking even to the Catholic faithful, and some die-hard adherents began a fruitless voyage in mischief, trying to justify the Pope’s decision even while prevaricating on the truth.
They argued that to bless a gay couple is not to wed them but failed to convince the discerning critics that blessing is a clear endorsement of same-sex relationship.
One of the arguments I came across held that the Pope was infallible and so his word is law and binding. Really? Never in my life have I heard that a human being is infallible, not in the church circle where we believe that all have fallen short of the glory of God. That claim rankles and is nothing but a blasphemy because infallibility belongs to God alone.
It is weird for a gay couple who knowingly and willingly continue in their sin to ask for blessings instead of repenting and asking for forgiveness. Obliging such a request is unacceptable and ungodly, irrespective of who does it.
Nevertheless, the greatest ill that can afflict a man is self-deceit and religious blindness. It is worse when we gloat in absurd realities. There is no cure for this, and it is wise to give such tendencies a wide berth.
What is actually at play is the endless division in Christendom. There is a contest over which church is better or worse; going to hell or heaven. This is a needless argument because there is no church denomination in heaven. We are all going there as members of the body of Christ to personally answer for our deeds on earth. Even the ‘infallible’ Pope would be there to justify his infallibility or have it repudiated by He that sits upon the throne.
It is heartwarming that some Catholic bishops and members have risen and rejected the abomination that was being foisted upon the church. Those who see it as a Catholic church matter were naive or ignorant because, definitely, it would spread.
That was how it began in the Anglican communion, which is yet to recover from that aberrant decision. Christianity cannot afford to have a key component like the Catholic church go the same way. That is why the condemnation is loud and unmistakable.
No matter the coloration it is given, blessing a recalcitrant gay couple is an affront on the law of God and nature. Homosexuality and lesbianism are the same reason for which God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. The world would necessarily apologise to the perished natives of this land if we have to start blessing gay couples.
Funny allusions were even made to thieves on death row that ask for prayers and the woman caught in adultery on which basis the proponents of gay blessing posited that even same-sex couples deserve blessings. Sadly, they do not consider that the thief on death row had suddenly realised himself and repented of his sins, hence the prayers. They pretend to have forgotten that Jesus admonished the adulterous woman to go and sin no more.
However, here the Pope wants blessings for gay couples still active in their sin.
It is madness, therefore, to bless a gay couple who persist in their evil simply because we want to show the love of Christ for all. Surely, Christ loves all and, in fact, does not want anyone to perish. His desire is for all to come to repentance and escape the looming hell. Blessing a gay couple without them repenting of their sins and turning a new leaf is nothing but an endorsement and encouragement for them to continue.
I am aware of a position that sounded dismissive of the highly emotive issue on the premise of lack of understanding. That sounded brashly haughty because there is nothing ambiguous about the directive from the Pope, which is to bless gay couples. This arrogant line of reasoning certainly intends to muzzle and obfuscate the mind, claiming understanding of spiritual things only belongs to the Pope. What is the place of the Holy Ghost in the life of believers?
The issue is simply that the Pope wants gay couples to receive priestly blessings without repentance and forsaking of the evil way, which is a major priestly failure. The only pastoral, priestly or papal sense would have been for the Pope to preach Christ to these deviant couples so that they would repent and forsake their evil ways. Blessing them in their sin is an open endorsement of that pathetic lifestyle.
This, however, is hardly surprising because we live in a morally bankrupt and broken society where deceit is a craft among humanity, the clergy inclusive.
This has nothing to do with the Catholic church. The entire Christendom is replete with terrible tales of pedophiles, rapists and gays and other perverted souls. These are the ones pushing the Pope or making spirited defence of an abominable act.
Only the mischievous play the religious card to divide and distract. It is not about any denomination but about what Christianity believes and preaches. It is about the truth of the gospel. It is about telling the world how repugnant homosexuality and lesbianism is to God, who even prescribed death for the culprits in Leviticus 20:13.
Unfortunately, we have become overly libertine. We have allowed the so-called human rights to erode our value system and the things the church holds dear. The church has gone to sleep and allowed an encroachment of the world, which describes sins in euphemisms. During the slumber, the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.
Poor Pope, he may have been overwhelmed by demands of perverted priests, bishops and the laity as well as pressure by some rotten elements in the West. So, he caved in in order to pacify them and avoid their exit from the church. He should have allowed them to exit instead of polluting the church of Christ, as God can command even stones to praise Him. Didn’t an ass preach to Balaam?
As usual, journalism was made a fall guy and accused of sensationalising what the Pope said, and I wonder how. However, note that sin is not what we think but what God says it is. So, the papacy is to blame for failing to call sin by its proper name but electing to bless and robe it in a fanciful garb. The Pope should have condemned the evil in line with God’s word, which he vowed to represent.
Those supporting him are afraid to state the obvious because they feel doing so is an attack on the Catholic church, which it is not. They have divided the truth according to templates created by diverse denominations to serve their end, not God’s designs.
To quote one of the brainy Nigerians today, Chief Pascal Egerue, “The personal search for God has created the multiplicity of messages and interpretations we have in the world of Christ, God and spiritual matters. This development has not augured well for the world right from the first time the church as an institution cracked and rather became fissiparous. I won’t have any doubt in my mind that personal searches, which have been on through the multiplicity of churches and agency churches is what is re-enacting the tower of Babel and confusion in christendom, especially in Africa.
“I would, therefore, for the sake of global sanity urge that we all team up to protect the institutional church, even while complementing it the personal churches in our hearts.
“Given the strength of the Catholic church in the world, every effort must be made to ensure that it doesn’t become an instrument for global social havoc.”
A journalist colleague of mine summed up all the arguments smartly when he said: “All these explanations by the church leaders and lovers of the church are mere play on words. Those who know, know. May we be counted worthy of Christ when our journey here is over’’.
Therefore, we celebrate Christmas, let us not lose sight of its essence in 1 John 3:8b. “…The Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil” whether in papal places or elsewhere in Christendom.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
