Friday, February fourteenth, the UN says at least 22 people have been killed in a village in the Northwest region of Cameroon. Over half of those killed were children. No one has claimed responsibility for Friday’s incident but the opposition parties blame the killing on the government.
Pope Francis says Christians should apologize to gay people
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Pope
Francis said Sunday that Christians owe apologies to gays and others who
have been offended or exploited by the church, remarks that some Catholics
hailed as a breakthrough in the church's tone toward homosexuality.
"I
repeat what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: that they must not be
discriminated against, that they must be respected and accompanied
pastorally," Francis said at a press conference aboard the papal plane
returning from Armenia.
"The
Church must ask forgiveness for not behaving many times -- when I say the
Church, I mean Christians! The Church is holy, we are sinners!"
As
he often does during unscripted moments -- particularly papal news conferences
-- the Pope spoke expansively, saying the church should seek forgiveness for a
number of historical slights committed in its name.
Groundbreaking
Moment
"I
believe that the church not only should apologize to the person who is gay whom
it has offended," he added, "but has to apologize to the poor, to
exploited women, to children exploited for labor; it has to ask forgiveness for
having blessed many weapons."
The
Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large of America magazine,
called the Pope's apology to gays and lesbians "a groundbreaking
moment."
"While
St. John Paul II apologized to several groups in 2000 -- the Jewish people,
indigenous peoples, immigrants and women, among them -- no pope has ever come
close to apologizing to the LGBT community. And the Pope is correct of course.
First, because forgiveness is an essential part of the Christian life. And
second, because no group feels more marginalized in the church today than LGBT
people."
The
Pope's comments came in response to a question about a German Cardinal who said
the Catholic Church should apologize for being "very negative" about
gays. The Pope was also asked whether Christians bear some blame for hatred
toward the LGBT community, as horrifically demonstrated in the Orlando massacre
at a gay night club that killed 49 people on June 12.
Repeating
the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church about respecting and not
discriminating against gays, Pope Francis said that one could condemn certain
behavior.
"One
can condemn, but not for theological reasons, but for reasons of political
behavior...Certain manifestations are a bit too offensive for others, no?
"But
these are things that have nothing to do with the problem. The problem is a
person that has a condition, that has good will and who seeks God, who are we
to judge? And we must accompany them well."
'Immense
Blessing'
Francis
first uttered that rhetorical question -- Who am I to judge gay people? -- in
2013, also during a news conference on the papal plane. His comments were
hailed as a breakthrough for a church that has historically condemned
homosexuality, often in harsh terms. Francis has not changed church doctrine
that calls homosexual acts sinful, but he has shown a more merciful approach to
people on the margins, including gays and lesbians.
Francis
DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic gay rights
group, called the Pope's remarks "an immense blessing of healing."
"No
pope has said more welcoming words to LGBT people than when Pope Francis today
offered his recommendation that the Church -- indeed all Christians -- should
apologize for the harm religious traditions have caused to LGBT people. The
pope's statement was simple, yet powerful, and it fell from his lips so easily."
As
is often the case, the Pope's press conference encompassed a number of
controversial questions. Here are the Pope's answers about Brexit, former Pope
Benedict XVI and why he used the word "genocide" to describe the
murder of more than 1 million Armenians in the early 20th century.
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