So many Catholics have been shocked, surprised, and confused by the recently-released Vatican document in which Pope Francis responds to questions regarding the blessing of couples in “irregular” or same-sex relationships. In this episode, Dr. Greg offers a response to the issue. 

Discussed in the episode: 

• The importance of transcending political commentary and debates and focusing instead on creating a path forward as a Church;

• What this current confusion can teach us; 

• Why this issue is actually an opportunity to bring the Church’s teaching about God’s plan for male and female to the forefront;

• The importance of deepening our understanding about the truth, beauty, and goodness of 2000 years of Catholic teaching about human sexuality;

• Why anything outside of God’s plan for marriage between a man and a woman is against our humanity;

• What Christ’s example of eating with tax collectors and sinners, meeting the woman at the well, and reaching down to the woman caught in adultery means;

• Why it’s important to have compassion for those struggling with sin, while still being careful not to legitimize the behavior of a sinful relationship;

• Our role as thoughtful, intelligent, prayerful, and discerning Catholics;

• Why we need to start with ourselves and our own interior conversion to make the Church better as a whole.

Resources mentioned or relevant: 

• On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings Declaration; 

• One Omission and Three False Dichotomies in the Vatican “Declaration” (blog post by Dr. Greg);

• Being Human Podcast Episodes: 

• Our recent Gender Series, beginning with Episode #149: A New Approach to the Gender Crisis;

• Episode #72: The DSM Disease (Part One of Two); 

• Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II; ; 

• Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West; 

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