Americans For Truth About Homosexuality head Peter LaBarbera is none too pleased with new comments on homosexuality made by Pope Francis, writing that a fear he “and many like-minded pro-family advocates share (including several Catholic friends with whom I’ve spoken) is that the pope is naive about the aggressive homosexualist agenda.”
According to LaBarbera, “Satan’s earthly minions” concocted a plan to bring gay men into the priesthood so they can “seduce and molest” boys in order to discredit and weaken the Church’s authority to condemn homosexuality. LaBarbera now fears that the Pope is giving ammunition to “pro-homosexuality and pro-abortion militants” to further their goal of bringing “corruption and destruction to many institutions.”
Americans For Truth About Homosexuality works closely with conservative Catholics from across the nation, indeed the world, in opposition to the homosexual activist movement. It is my experience that wherever the Catholic Church still has influence, if the Church or its leaders takes a strong stand against pro-”gay” legislation, the bills usually fail — but if Church leaders compromise on doctrine or go AWOL (public policy-speaking), homosexual activists triumph.
Having said that, I acutely recognize — from my perspective as an evangelical (who was raised Catholic) — that there has always been a “friendly distrust” or competition between ministry and the defense of morality. Between Christians who believe that primary role of believers is compassionate Gospel outreach to lost homosexuals — and “culture war” Christians who (although also loving the Gospel) see religious traditionalists as a crucial force resisting the Sin Movement of homosexuality that so profoundly threatens our culture.
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I dare say that a more sinister plot to undermine the Catholic Church and its reputation could not have been carried out had Satan’s earthly minions spent $100 million devising one:
1. Homosexual men take advantage of more lax standards to enter priesthood.
2. Homosexual priests and male Catholic school officials use their authoritative role to seduce and molest mostly male teenagers and boys.
3. Homosexuals like then-Archbishop Weakland and their sympathizers in the Church cover up priest abuses and transfer predators to new, unsuspecting parishes, where they molest more boys.
4. The homosexual-predator scandal blows up in the media — alienating millions of Catholics from the Church and doing untold damage to its reputation and moral, spiritual and political influence.
5. Homosexuals and liberal allies who advocate for acceptance of homosexuality turn around and say Church is now discredited because it harbored “pedophiles.” Meanwhile, Church officials resist full disclosure of the scandal, thus perpetuating it.
6. Lastly, “gay” activists and their liberal allies continue to insist that the male-on-boy priest abuse scandal has little or nothing to do with homosexuals — but rather was a “pedophile” or “ephebophile” (adult who is sexual attracted to adolescents) problem.
My hunch is that each and every one of those complicit Church apologists for homosexuality, like Weakland, would consider himself “more compassionate” and “more Christ-like” than “anti-gay Catholics” who have been scandalized by the homosexualist advances in their Church. Such is the arrogance of liberals. This despite the untold suffering of boys victimized by sexual deviants masquerading as pastoral guardians of others’ souls.
All this is a roundabout way of saying that the great fear that I and many like-minded pro-family advocates share (including several Catholic friends with whom I’ve spoken) is that the pope is naive about the aggressive homosexualist agenda. Pro-”gay” ideologues are cunning and tactical — they are already using the pope’s words to advocate ideas that he surely condemns. While laying claim to the Gospel and noble concepts like tolerance and equality, they have brought corruption and destruction to many institutions, of which the Catholic Church is but one.
We understand that the pope is not embracing a change in Church doctrine, and that he truly wants to help homosexual strugglers come to God. But at the same time we recognize that words matter in this debate — indeed, they often drive it. (Witness the deviously brilliant slogan “marriage equality” used by LGBT advocates to denote sodomy-based so-called “marriage.”) And unfortunately the words Pope Francis has chosen (e.g., warning against “obsessing” about Church doctrines (such as Vatican teachings on homosexuality) and stating regarding “gay” priests: “Who am I to judge them?”) are already being manipulated, distorted and exploited by LGBT activists and their allies. That includes pro-homosexual priests like Fr. James Martin who are no friends of orthodoxy.
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Nobody is predicting the dissolution of the Catholic Church, but when you see pro-homosexuality and pro-abortion militants acclaiming the new the pope’s approach, beware. AFTAH will be following this story closely.
