Pope Francis famously asked last year: “If a person is gay and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” Last week, it almost looked like the Catholic Church, led by the first Pope in a thousand years from outside Europe, was set to make a bold transition, or at least make a beginning in that direction. The Church seemed set to change its views on homosexual acts, which it used to consider “intrinsically disordered”. A new Vatican document indeed acknowledged that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer”. Then it raised a rhetorical question, whether the Church could accept gay people and recognise the positive aspects of same-sex couples. It also displayed a merciful tone towards Catholics in “irregular situations” such as cohabitation of heterosexual couples who are either unmarried or have had only a civil marriage. Although it was essentially a working paper presented before a Synod in Vatican City, it was prepared by a group hand-picked by the Pope, and the Synod itself was specially called by him. Given the reactions that the move quickly evoked from among Church conservatives, it was clearly way too early to conclude if this indeed would mark a breakthrough: one of the critics spoke of “betrayal of Catholic parents”. Although the document used less judgmental and more compassionate prose than ever seen earlier, it did not signal any change in the Church’s doctrinal stand on homosexual acts or gay marriage. The bishops’ final report that came at the conclusion of the Synod did water down some of the progressive ideas and language, but it will remain the topic of reflection among Catholics across the world ahead of a more definitive Synod in 2015.
Meanwhile, other vital questions, such as those relating to the Church’s stand on contraception, abortion and even priestly celibacy in the context of a rash of paedophilia charges against clergymen in different countries, remain. The issue of giving adequate opportunities to women in the Church is another fractious issue. While ruling out women’s ordination, Pope Francis has been quietly insisting on, and prevailing upon his key functionaries, to appoint more women to positions of influence within the Vatican, in turn paving the way for the trend to catch on across the hierarchy. He has also sent out clear signals that the Church should grapple with its bugbears — rather than seek to sweep them under the carpet. It appears to be the case that a battle is raging for the soul of the Catholic Church. The question is whether the values of progressive liberalism should not guide the Church today, for the Christian faith is not all about moral perfection but about mercy and redemption. Pope Francis is going to prove how immensely difficult it is to walk in the shoes of the fisherman.
