The Pope, Gay Marriage And Papal Infallibility.

First, two points. I was raised a Catholic (and I actually still consider myself a nominal one, though I probably disagree with most of its doctrines [I still do believe in God though, FWIW]). And I probably supported gay marriage, or at least gay unions, even long before it became politically popular to do so.

Anyways, I still have one question about Papal infallibility. When the Pope speaks ex cathedra (i.e., with his full authority), on matters of morals or religious doctrine, he is considered "infallible", by his followers. Now, what if he suddenly okayed gay marriage, and made it a sacrament even? How would his more conservative followers deal with that? They don't believe in gay marriage themselves. They are even strongly against it. And the Pope just gave it his seal of approval?

BTW, I am not predicting any future event, at least that will happen any time soon. My question is purely hypothetical

:daisy: :daisy:

 

The Pope is just another guy who's found himself in an oddly powerful position, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely by accident, but nevertheless the decisions he makes should be made to alleviate the emotional circumstances of individuals rather than conduct his own conceptual ideals of human interaction. Can't keep everyone happy, so focus your efforts on benefiting people in the long run.

If it were to happen, he'd upset a lot of people and make others a lot happier in the long run. There'd probably be a snap of tension and some potentially violent protest in some of the more retarded areas of the world, but there's not much else that could be done about it. The shock would average out as the newer generations of conservatives acclimatise to the reality of equality and the older and more stubborn generations expire.

 

It's a bit like the question "what If the queen (of England) decided to dissolve parliament or refuse to grant assent to bills and stop them becoming law?"

Well the answer, tbh, is she just wouldn't. The fallout would tear the country apart.

Same answer with the pope. These powers are really powers in name only.

 

i don't buy the infallibility of anything. even a god. but imma lika dis apope.
(he understands there's a real world out there, that nature has its own faith in itself, that didn't come from anything humans said in a book,
that our mortal lives depend more on nature then anything we tell each other.)

as for 'conservatives', they live in an imaginary world and make their own problems.

which, if they only lied to themselves, and didn't try to punish everyone else who refuses to,
the only problem they'd be is to themselves and that would be fine.