Pope Francis was “shocked” by a bill in Malta that would allow gαy couples to adopt children, said a bishop from the small island nation, adding that the Holy Father had encouraged him to speak up on the issue.

“We discussed many aspects...and when I raised the issue that’s worrying me as a bishop [the same-sex adoption bill] he encouraged me to speak out,” Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna told The Sunday Times of Malta.

The bishop spoke about the importance of strong families in his Christmas homily. His concerns come after lawmakers in Malta introduced a bill to allow same-sex civil unions and adoption of children.

Reports of the Pope’s words to Bishop Scicluna led to surprise and criticism from some media commenters, with Damian Thompson, blog editor of The Telegraph, questioning whether Time Magazine would “take back its Person of the Year award” from the Holy Father.

Some commenters and media outlets have portrayed the Pope as moving towards a change in Church teaching on ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity, pointing to his comments in July, “If a person is gαy and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?”

Later, the Pontiff cautioned against an excessive fixation on moral issues such as ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity by some in the Church, saying that this view risked reducing the Gospel to a mere moral code.

These comments were cited by American LGBT magazine The Advocate, which named Pope Francis its Person of the Year for 2013.

However, the Pope has also said on several occasions that he is a “son of the Church” who agrees with the moral teachings of the Church.

He opposed legislation to legalize “gαy marriage” in Argentina in 2010, saying that it was “a destructive proposal to God's plan.”

Speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Dec. 1, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York explained that Pope Francis is not – and cannot – change Church doctrine on moral issues.

Rather, he said, the Holy Father is offering a shift in emphasis, calling Catholics to live out Church teaching of loving and respecting all individuals while working to promote the Gospel, including Catholic moral doctrine.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-encouraged-malta-bishop-to-speak-out-against-gαy-adoption-bill/

Franks "who am I to judge" bull$#!+ has done a presently indeterminable amount of severe profound damage to Catholics advocating for laws consistent with morality, and even simply living a good Catholic life.

I remember when he was in Argentina and he was a thorn in the sides of the socialist legislators who were advocating gαy marriage.

He could hardly have been shocked. See this high profile report  in his former diocese:http://www.novusordowatch.org/wire/homo-baptism-buenos-aires.htm

The Vatican on Sunday denied Italian media reports that recent comments by Pope Francis signaled his openness to the legal recognition of same-sex unions in Italy.

Francis, in a conversation with leaders of religious orders published by a Jesuit journal on Friday, said the Catholic Church had to try not to scare away children who live in complex family situations, such as those whose parents were separated and those living with gαy couples.

Francis gave the example of a little girl in Buenos Aires, his former diocese, who confided to her teacher the reason she was always sad was that "my mother's girlfriend doesn't like me".

The pope told the leaders of religious orders that a great challenge for the Church would be to reach out to children living in difficult or unorthodox domestic situations.

"The situation in which we live now provides us with new challenges which sometimes are difficult for us to understand," the pope said, according to the transcript of the conversation.

"How can we proclaim Christ to these boys and girls? How can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing? We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them," he said.

"MANIPULATION"

Italian media on Sunday ran headlines saying the pope's words were an opening to legal provision for civil unions for gαy couples, a subject of debate in Italy.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio that media interpretations were "paradoxical" and a "manipulation" of the pope's words, particularly as some media quoted him as speaking specifically of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ unions, which he did not.

Lombardi said the pope was merely "alluding to the suffering of children" and not taking a stand on the political debate in Italy.

Since his election in March, however, the pope has avoided repeating the denunciations of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity pronounced by his two immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

Last month, The Advocate, the oldest gαy rights magazine in the United States, named him 'Person of the Year'. It hailed as a landmark his response last July to a reporter who asked about gαy people in the Church: "If a person is gαy and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?"

The Vatican has stressed the pope's words did not change Church teachings that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ tendencies are not sinful but ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ acts are.

Still, the gαy community and many heterosɛҳuąƖs in the Church have welcomed what they see as a shift in emphasis and a call for the Church to be more compassionate and less damning.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/vatican-denies-pope-is-open-to-recognition-of-gαy-civil-unions

Whether he is for gαy marriage or not, he told us we must accept them, St Paul told us not to associate with them.

When someone false preaches against the Gospel we can discern them as being a threat.

Jesus chose St Paul to build and grow his Church and we are all enjoying the fruits of his ministry. We will know Frank by his fruit.

Quote from: poche

"MANIPULATION"

. . .

Since his election in March, however, the pope has avoided repeating the denunciations of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity pronounced by his two immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

Poche,

Why do you suppose His Humbleness is being softer (no pun intended) on this issue than his predecessors?

When he was in Argentina he was the thorn in the side of the Peronist Socialists who were trying to impose "gαy" marriage. He has repeatedly said that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ relations are sinful.
When he said "Who am I to judge?" he was speaking in reference to the people of good will who come into the Church looking for God. That is what happens when you live a life of sin and without God. It becomes empty. This emptyness is an emptyness that only god can fill. Jesus the good shepherd goes out into the wilderness in search of the lost sheep. The Faather waits for the return of the prodigal son. The goal of teh pope is the conversion of sinners whoever they may be.
The problem is that some people are not listening. Or rather they are only listening for what they want to hear.