Pope Francis is at it again.
According to The Associated Press, he has invited a group of trans-identified men to dine with him during a recent luncheon at the Vatican for a lunch in the papal audience hall to commemorate the Catholic Church’s World Day of the Poor. Together with these trans-identified men, there were about 1,000 other poor and homeless people.
“The luncheon came weeks after the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a document earlier this month explaining that trans-identified individuals can be baptized and serve as godparents in some circumstances.”
But there is more to this cherry on the cake.
“Many of the trans-identifying men are Latin American migrants and prostitutes who live in Torvaianica near Rome, according to the AP, which noted that they and Pope Francis have grown close after he helped them during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“After they showed up to the church of the Rev. Andrea Conocchia, who encouraged them to reach out to Pope Francis, the pontiff reportedly reached out to meet them as they struggled with lack of income since many were not legally allowed in Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican bussed the women to a clinic to get the shot even ahead of other Italians, according to the AP. “
Now I know what some of you might be thinking. You might say that Jesus loved both the adulteress and the prostitute. Surely He did. Both stories are two remarkable ones that show us how Jesus cared for all types of people. In no way are people and clergy who condemn Pope Francis’s actions the modern Pharisees who, in the time of Jesus, were offended by Jesus’s attitude because, in their view, God loved only the righteous who kept the law. In no way do people who condemn Pope Francis’s actions say that we should distance ourselves from so-called ‘unclean’ sinners.
After all, Jesus often ate and drank with corrupt tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. And we all know that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. And none of us would cast stones at anyone because none of us is without sin.
BUT, Jesus met people where they were and healed them. In no way did Jesus mean that adultery is fine because we commit other sins. And Jesus had told the adulteress, “Go and sin no more.” (John 8 verses 10–11) This means that He neither condemned her nor approved her self-destructive lifestyle. What He did was remove her sin.
In the story of the prostitute, who had wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and pouring perfume on them (Luke 7:38), Jesus forgave the woman’s sin, reminding her that her faith in Him was the saving force that would lead to the path of peace. Jesus looks at the heart and offers boundless grace to all who turn to him in faith.
So, when Pope Francis is dining with prostitutes and transgender people to dine with him, mimicking Jesus, is he also telling them to change their self-destructive lifestyle and not to sin anymore?
With this kind of invitation, Pope Francis is giving a familiar combination of sex, public disgrace, and a double standard because these men, who were not born as biological women, are being used as pawns in a power play to discredit Jesus.
What Pope Francis should be doing is challenging everyone to take responsibility for their participation in the act of condemning someone else while focusing on saving such sinners by ordering them to turn back from their way of life. Only when they repent and stop living their destructive lifestyle will these guests truly worship Christ.
Because Jesus never approved of corruption or sexual immorality. And Pope Francis, as head of the Catholic Church, should be doing the same. Sexual sins destroy marriages, families, and individual lives while involving depression, disease, and deception.
Clearly, the Vatican is distorting doctrine and using only parts of Jesus’s teachings to promote heresies.