If some Catholics and Christians want to go off the reservation, violate the very First Commandment and put the god of progressivism before God, that is their choice, that is their soul. Legions of Christians have put the false idols of abortion and same sex marriage over God. That’s on them. But when 38% of Catholics believe their Holy Father, spiritual guide, and the successor to Peter supports gay marriage, that is a massive failure of leadership on the part of Pope Francis.
A recent poll taken to gauge “The Francis Effect” in America found a striking (and tragic) amount of confusion over the Pope’s stance on same sex marriage. [emphasis added]
Although Pope Francis has not changed the Catholic Church’s official position opposing same-sex marriage, nearly four in ten (38%) Catholics believe that the pope supports allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally. Roughly similar numbers of Catholics (43%) say the pope opposes same-sex marriage, while nearly one in five (19%) say they do not know the pope’s position or refused the question.
This misperception may be driven in part by the fact that Catholics are likely to believe that Pope Francis holds a position on the issue of same-sex marriage that is consistent with their own. Among the majority of Catholics who support same-sex marriage, nearly half (49%) believe that the pope supports this position as well, while 36% say he is opposed and 15% say they do not know the pope’s position.
The poll was taken prior to the Pope’s American visit but it is unlikely that visit did anything to clarify his stance on same sex marriage. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the confusion worsened. The media spent 5 days gushing over our “Progressive Pope,” and Francis did next to nothing to dampen that narrative.
The primary job of the Catholic Church is to save immortal souls. The primary job of the Pope is to lead and guide his worldly flock into Heaven. Not everyone is going to follow that lead. Out of pride, in order to rationalize their own personal belief system, some will create their own false god, one who blesses abortion and gay marriage. There is nothing anyone, including a Pope can do about them. These idolaters might have convinced themselves to worship a god that is not God, but they have done so knowingly.
What is so potentially tragic about the 38% of Catholics who believe Francis is in favor of same sex marriage, is that they are being led astray by a Pope who has been, and I say this with respect, mealy-mouthed on the issue of homosexual sin and homosexual marriage.
A “majority” of Catholics support same sex marriage (which is unbelievable in and of itself). Of that majority, 49% believe Francis agrees with them on the issue.
What I’m about to say is not hyperbole or melodrama or me trying to hammer a point home with an overreaction. This is the truth: I cannot think of anything more tragic than leading astray and into sinful beliefs people of good faith who seek out God. With your eternal soul at stake, this is the one thing you have to get right in your short life, and if you trust in the wrong person you are damned.
Yes, people have a responsibility to find God’s Truth on their own. Relying on a Pope or anyone else is lazy and foolish and risky in the extreme.
But Francis also has a responsibility — to save souls — and according to this poll his glaring lack of clarity on this issue, at an especially crucial time, shows that in the soul-saving department, his papacy might be doing more harm than good.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC