CV NEWS FEED // A recent op-ed for a prominent Christian publication expressed that many Protestants look to the Catholic Church to protect Biblical morality on issues like marriage and sexuality–and that recent events in the Catholic Church “warrant concern” for all Christians.
On December 5, The Daily Citizen, the official publication of the pro-life Evangelical organization Focus on the Family, published an article by Zachary Mettler titled “An Explainer for Evangelicals: Here’s Where the Catholic Church is Headed on LGBT Issues.”
Referencing the Synod on Synodality held at the Vatican in October, as well as recent statements from Pope Francis and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, Mettler explained why the Catholic Church’s recent documents and discussions on LGBT issues warrant concern from “Christians who believe in a biblical sexual ethic.”
“For those who affirm biblical beliefs on our culture’s hot button moral issues – including abortion, same-sex marriage, contraception and transgenderism,” Mettler wrote, “the Vatican was generally seen as the archetype of stable and clear moral teaching under the pontificates of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.”
Mettler also quoted the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Al Mohler, who said:
There is vast influence that comes from the pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church… on issues of the sanctity of human life, the definition of marriage, the understanding of gender and sexuality, that has been a part of Christian teaching consistent through two millennia of the Christian tradition…
The Roman Catholic Church has functioned as something of a door stop on at least the progressivist and relativist moral teachings that have taken hold of so much of the culture, the redefinition of sexuality, marriage, and of course the teachings and the policies that have led to such an assault on unborn human life.
Mettler explained that despite the steadiness of the Church’s history on teachings about marriage and sexuality, “confusion and ambiguity seem to have grown under Pope Francis’ leadership.” He cited when Pope Francis welcomed a group of transgender individuals to the Vatican as guests for lunch on the World Day of the Poor.
Mettler also quoted the most recent document from the Synod on Synodality, which stated, “Sometimes the anthropological categories that we have developed are not sufficient to capture the complexity of the elements that emerge from experience or scientific knowledge and require refinement and further study.”
After giving these examples, Mettler wrote that “evangelicals should take comfort and know that the Catholic Church has not changed its teaching on LGBT issues.”
He continued,
All three examples cited above – the synodal document, the DDF document and the Vatican’s welcome of transgender individuals – do not change the church’s teaching on sexuality or gender issues.
Mettler cited a canon lawyer who explained that no teachings have been changed, and he cited paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church stating the Church’s position on marriage and sexuality.
“Though the Vatican may issue convoluted documents and the pope may say confusing things, the church’s teaching on LGBT issues remains clear,” Mettler wrote. “Pastoral and practical considerations are not unimportant, but they should not be confused for an ‘official change’ of the church’s teaching.”
“Faithful Catholics Believe the Church’s Teaching Will Not Change,” Mettler wrote in a subheading. He explained that “under the Catholic Church’s traditional view of the role of the pope, a pope cannot change universally held teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Mettler concluded, “While clarity and unflinching orthodoxy has not been a hallmark of the Vatican in recent years, Christians should take comfort that the Catholic Church has not changed its teachings on critical matters of morality and sexuality.”
