Who Are You To Judge?

Perhaps if Pope Francis had asked this question instead of "who am I to judge"? there'd be a lot less consternation and gnashing of teeth. As an ordained priest with faculties to hear confessions and absolve sins, the pope is in a position to judge when you think about it.  As for the rest of us?  We would do well to consider that when we take it upon ourselves to hold others in judgment, we are appropriating that which is the exclusive property of God and the laborers He called to His vineyard.

I would not recommend that the princes of  the Church comment "bravo" when someone exits the proverbial closet unless they immediately follow that remark with "now that he has openly admitted to having a disordered passion I pray he will seek God's help in overcoming it and he has my prayers for the strength to seek forgiveness and amend his life".

We still have people who would reduce Christ's church to a homogenous country club open only to those who fit their description of what a Catholic Christian looks like.  One has only to look at the rag-tag band of 12 Our Lord chose to follow Him to realize He offers salvation to all who are willing to  conform to His Holy Will. It was Jesus Himself who reminded us that the well have no need of a physician, only the sick.   But in a culture that seeks its own pleasure and puts itself above the Creator it is critical to weigh every spoken word with the utmost care.  Society only hears what it wants to hear so ambiguity can be a very dangerous thing when you're trying to save souls.