Pope Francis criticises homosexual marriage referring to French bishops’ defence of sacrament of marriage
Under the chapter ‘Amid the Crisis of Communal Commitment’ and the sub-section ‘Some cultural challenges’ Pope Francis refers to the undermining of marriage through subjectivism, using the French Bishop’s document defending the sacrament of marriage from the legalisation of same-sex marriage, ‘Conseil Famille et Société, Élargir le mariage aux personnes de même sexe? Ouvrons le débat! ’
Pope Francis insists that openness to life is fundamental to the definition of marriage:
’66. The family is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these bonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to belong to one another; it is also the place where parents pass on the faith to their children. Marriage now tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. But the indispensible contribution of marriage to society transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple. As the French bishops have taught, it is not born “of loving sentiment, ephemeral by definition, but from the depth of the obligation assumed by the spouses who accept to enter a total communion of life”.
Protect the Pope comment: Faithful Catholics have been waiting for Pope Francis to refer to the French Church’s courageous defence of marriage in the face of intimidation and violence from the French State. In Evangelii Gaudium we have the statement we have all been waiting to hear. Imagine how the media would have reacted if Pope Benedict had made this criticism of same-sex marriage.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html#_ftnref60