SHORT
COMMUNICATION 346
The Surprise Selection
By
Roger Behra
The 1.2 Billion Catholics around the world are
now settling down from the surprise selection of their new pope: Pope Francis
I. Millions of Catholics went gaga because he in an Argentine and not someone
from a country in Europe, and they do now expect a different kind of papacy. Catholics
hope and expect his leadership will spawn a Catholic resurgence. Yes, it's
going to be more progressive but not in a manner many Catholics are hoping: There
will be no change in the Church's stance on ABORTION and SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Those issues will not change one iota. That
means not even a small change will take place. That's the way it should be.
Catholics need to know that certain stances the
Church takes cannot ever be changed or diluted because the stances are dogma. Abortion
and same-sex marriage are dogma. They are never going to be acceptable. They
are always going to be considered intrinsically evil, sinful, and just plain
wrong.
Life begins at conception and God has given the
fetus a soul and has a plan for that life. If there is no sound medical reason,
that life cannot be indiscriminately snuffed out through abortion, which is
really-murder.
Marriage is a sacrament, holy, instituted by
God, and meant to be between one man and one woman. So, the Church cannot
change that either, and same-sex marriage can never be considered a marriage. It
is out of the question. Pope Francis
will not, therefore, be making any changes to make abortion or same-sex
marriage acceptable.
What Pope Francis is going to do is pay
particular attention to the poor and the disenfranchised. That is a necessary
and welcomed change. He has not yet mentioned how he is going to address that. The
poor and disenfranchised who benefit from that dedication will greatly
outnumber all the disgruntled Catholics who leave the Catholic Church because
abortion and same-sex marriage will never be acceptable to him.
Millions of Catholics are wishing Pope Francis
a successful, peaceful, and productive papacy as he reaches his goals. May his
papacy be renowned in the history of the papacy.
R. B.
3-24-13
