Ever
since St. John Paul II created the World Meeting of Families in 1994,
the tri-annual event has served as a powerful celebration of the
Catholic Church’s teachings on the nature and value of the family.
That’s why I was so distressed to hear about the confusing information
included in the newly-released parish program for the 2018 World Meeting
of Families (WMF), scheduled to take place in Ireland.
One
page of the program includes a photo of a lesbian couple embracing
(with their heads cropped out), with a painted rainbow flag prominently
displayed on one of the women’s hands. Right above this photo, the text
reads:
"While
the Church upholds the ideal of marriage as a permanent commitment
between a man and a woman, other unions exist which provide mutual
support to the couple. Pope Francis encourages us never to exclude but
to accompany these couples also, with love, care and support."
Adding
to the atmosphere of moral confusion, at around the same time as the
release of the program Most Rev. Brendan Leahy, the bishop of Limerick,
gave an interview to Independent, in which he said that “Everyone must
be made feel welcome” at the WMF – including, it seems, an ambiguous
“diversity”of families.
