‘BACKSLIDING CHURCH’

Bishop Dr Alvin Bailey, head of the Holiness Christian Church and president of the Jamaica Evangelical Alliance, has labelled the Roman Catholic denomination a “backsliding church”, following yesterday’s ruling by Pope Francis that allows priests to formally bless same-sex couples.

Bailey stressed that the move is in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Bible, and chastised the Pope for compromising his scriptural position.

“We are not given the permission, according to scripture, to embrace anything that contravenes God’s divine order, compromises his glory or the holiness of the church,” he said.

“And so any church, any church at all that practises anything that compromises morality or decency ... is a backsliding church. They are a church that certainly is not conscious and aware of their redemptive responsibility and that which God has called us to be in this wicked and perverse generation,” he said.

A document explaining the change in the Vatican’s policy outlined that people seeking God’s love and mercy should not be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

However, it emphasised that the blessings should not be a part of regular church rituals or given in the same context as a civil union or wedding.

It stressed that people in “irregular” unions – gay or straight – are in a state of sin.

However, it said that should not deprive them of God’s love or mercy.

But more important Bailey contends is the church’s role to redeem such individuals.

“If you are deemed to be practising homosexuality, or you are sleeping with another man’s wife or committing fornication, you cannot retain the status of a member because those are sinful practices,” he said. “No church can embrace somebody who is sinning and it doesn’t compromise our love for the sinner, or the person who is a practising homosexual who is the object of our redemptive responsibility.”

NO INTENTION TO LEGITIMISE

While stating that the Pope’s ruling is “qualified”, Reverend Kenneth Richards, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston, explained that the blessing that is given by a priest expresses the church’s maternal heart.

“There is no intention to legitimise anything contrary to God’s law, but rather for persons to open their life to God, to ask for His help to live better, and to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness,” he told The Gleaner.

He noted that it is the priest who will exercise judgement in offering the blessings.

“Prayer requests if made by same-sex couples … will be prayer for the persons … not prayer for a same-sex union. Pastoral prudence must be exercised to ensure that the distinction is made. Thus such prayer will not be in a liturgical setting,” he said.

Richards says the church’s stance that marriage is between a man and woman is unchanged, and sought to allay fears that this latest move from the Catholic church is opening the door to it eventually blessing same-sex marriages.

“The fear of the slippery slope is therefore not envisaged by offering prayer for a same-sex couple since the prayer will not be a recognition of a union and not in a liturgical setting. Prayer would be along the lines of seeking God’s will ... ,” he said.

RIGHT DIRECTION

Meanwhile, Glenroy Murray, executive director of Equality for All Foundation Jamaica, a gay-rights lobby, hailed the move as a “step in the right direction”, especially for LGBTQ+ members of faith who desire to be more supported in their faith communities.

“When we look at the broader implications in that there is a Pope that is on his own time, signalling to the rest of the world that there is a way that you can be both a member of our community and in your faith community, and you don’t have to choose between the two,” he said.

“I understand the kinds of anxieties that produces for a lot of the local actors here in Jamaica, but I think that what it should instead signal to them is that there is space for that kind of conversation.”

Human rights activist and Anglican priest Father Sean Major-Campbell described the ruling as a “commendable act of pastoral care”.

“The good news is that God’s love and blessings are ever flowing freely for everyone. Papa Francis has, generally speaking, though, proven to be a servant of compassion, peace, and love,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com