On Monday, the Vatican, or more precisely the Congregation for the Faith (Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei, in Latin), circulated a short and clear answer to a frequently asked question about the church's attitude towards same-sex marriage.
This answer consists of one word - negative - followed by an explanation of this attitude on two pages in seven languages with thirteen references to various previously adopted church documents. The response, signed by the head of the congregation, Cardinal Luis F. Ladaria, states that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriage because God cannot bless sin. A homosexual union cannot be considered legitimate [in the sense of the Church] because "they would constitute a certain imitation or analogue of the nuptial blessing invoked on the man and woman united in the sacrament of Matrimony, while in fact there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family."
With this statement, the Vatican makes it clear that it separates the sacrament of Matrimony from the simple cohabitation of two people. These are two different things that are not "even remotely" similar. The next paragraph of the explanatory statement states that this statement is in no way intended as "a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite and of the very nature of the sacramentals, as the Church understands them."
"The Christian community and its Pastors are called to welcome with respect and sensitivity persons with homosexual inclinations," the statement said, with a general emphasis on reconciliation and inclusion. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that there will be activists who will also declare this statement a "hate speech" initiated by "inexplicable evil". These two words, "hatred" and "evil", are the key words without which the accusing rhetoric of today's LGBTNIQ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, non-binary people, intersex people and queer) is unthinkable.
The significance of the Vatican statement is greater than can be imagined at first glance. So far, everything has gone in the same direction: the number of letters in the above-mentioned community designation has increased from time to time with new and new categories of people with special objections, and there was no indication that this "growth" would stop at some point. The road roller of LGBTNIQ community activists unstoppably trampled all their opponents, even those who had wandered out on the road accidentally. The apparent ambiguity of the judgment of the Constitutional Court of November 12 drowned under the absolute unanimity of judges. It might have seemed to the observer of social processes - there is no point in trying to resist this machinery.
That is why this statement is so important, because it makes it clear that the Vatican policy of concessions, when the church walked away from the traditional dogmas of the faith step by step under the new influence, has been stopped. As recently as last autumn, Pope Francis' ambiguous statements, which many interpreted as support for the legalization of same-sex marriage, caused a great stir. However, even then, the Vatican pointed out that it was only talking about civil unions, not marriage, which, according to the teachings of the Church (and the Latvian Constitution), is a marriage between a man and a woman.
The Vatican's statement on Monday made it clear that the union of homosexual couples cannot be seen as anything other than an imitation of the marriage of heterosexual couples.
In the Vatican's view, all this passion for the LGBTNIQ+ movement is a temporary phenomenon, a social fashion that is not and cannot be sustainable, to use currently popular terminology. The Church, as one of the central social cornerstones, must remain unmoved in the winds of secular change. The church must become the guardian of values that have been tested for centuries. Queers come and go, but humanity remains.
It seemed to many that the moment was slowly approaching when the Catholic Church would give up and do whatever it is asked of it from those who do not go to church, do not read the Bible, do not believe in God and who understand the meaning of church life and the meaning of faith only from Hollywood blockbusters such as The New Pope with Jude Law in the lead role. This Vatican announcement signals that the talks about the end of the church are a little exaggerated.
Admittedly, those who try to modernise religion "from the sidelines" usually have a rather poor understanding of the deepest meaning of church, faith, and religion (which are not the same thing). They place their head, their vision of the world, on the body of a believer who observes liturgical rituals, and wonder why they cling so strictly to what they consider to be archaic attributes of faith.
In the Church's view, these attributes are by no means archaic, for they are eternal. In turn, unbelievers are similar in their thinking to those who call for the demolition of all old buildings, where people find it difficult to live, in order to build new, modern high-rise buildings in their place. After all, it is easier and more convenient to demolish the “hovel” on Marijas Street than to restore and preserve it. Not only do they not see any beauty in this "archaism", a positive educational effect; they see it as an obstacle to building a "new world". Obstacle to the "new mindset". Therefore, it must be broken down brick by brick. Why not bless same-sex marriages, ordain women, abolish that silly celibacy? And then soon you may just as well abolish the Bible, the liturgical rituals and, ultimately, the church itself.
These people do not see the role of the Church in the evolution of our civilization and in ensuring modern prosperity. On the contrary, they are unwaveringly convinced that the church has always been like a heavy stone chained to our feet that has pulled our civilization down. The fact that all early European universities (and therefore science), primary education institution, charities, social security and health care systems originated in the early Middle Ages and continued to develop to the present level on the basis of Christianity with the direct blessing of the Church is not just unmentioned, but turned completely upside down.
There is no doubt that this Vatican announcement will also trigger new waves of attack on the church. There will be hypocritical questions, shifting of the accents - where did such hatred come from? It must be reiterated that "hatred" in LGBTNIQ language does not mean what the word has meant for hundreds of years, but the slightest reluctance to uncritically support any desires and assumptions of this community.
The Vatican's announcement on Monday does not mean that the church will withstand and win. But the question remains, who will win then? Will the queers, who for obvious reasons cannot have their own biological offspring, really be the rulers in Europe in fifty years' time? One can, of course, quote Spengler at this point, who predicted the decline of Western Europe a hundred years ago, but nothing that bad has happened, right?
Unfortunately, a lot has happened. Whatever Europe was a hundred years ago, it was deeply rooted in Christian culture. People could not go to church, not believe in God, but they had the backdrop of the millennia-long European cultural tradition. Even now we have it, regardless of an individual's personal religiosity. The European (Christian) understanding of good and evil. The question is, is this also the case with those who attacked the Charlie Hebdo editorial office?
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