A Change of Epoch: the historic meeting of Sister Jeannine Gramick with Pope Francis and look back at the homophobic Vatican of the epoch of Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)

 

Following an audience of almost one hour 17 Octoner 2023 with Pope Francis, Sister Jeannine Gramick, pioneer of pastoral care for LGBTQ members of the Catholic Church, and co-founder of New Ways Ministry with the late Father Robert Nugent said, Pope Francis 'has a warmth and a wanting to embrace everyone, not just LGBT people but those who have been shunned by society and the church.' Sister Jeannine firmly belives that this dramatic change in the Catholic church, truly a change of epoch, is the work of the Holy Spirit.  An interview in National Catholic Reporter gives further deatils:

https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-francis-meets-leaders-lgbtq-rainbow-catholics-coalition

Whilst rejoicing in this change, it is essential not to forget the abuse that the Catholic church has imposed not only on its LGBTQ members and their pastors.  At the same time as crushing its own members, it also gave a sheen of respectability on an international scale to the views of religious traditionalists,  the fascist right and fundamentalist states with whom the Church allied themselves at UN events.   Even today, traditionalists in the church attack Pope Francis as they see their justifications for hate slipping away.  Francis himself has said, 'The church is not afraid of history'; to deny or hide the past would be historical negationism, a practice that has abounded in the Catholic church over the millennia. Below, is the link to an article I wrote about Sister Jeannine Gramick and Father Robert Nugent in 1999 that was published in the Catholic newspaper The Tablet and later reprinted in the Irish Times.  There is no excuse for the Catholic church's cruel and abusive behavior toward the LGBTQ community in the past.  And, as the Disney Studios warn at the start of their past film productions in relation to attitudes now considered racist,  they 'were wrong then, they are wrong now.'  This is also true of homophia in the church.

Vatican's judgment against pioneers of pastoral work with gays could have tragic consequences  (Irish Times  Tuesday 3 August 1999) 

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/vatican-s-judgment-against-pioneers-of-pastoral-work-with-gays-could-have-tragic-consequences-1.213035