Vatican against homophobia

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Vatican did nothing to block the proposed law condemning homophobia in Italy. He said the Vatican only asked for clarity of terms to avoid problems. “We are against any attitude or gesture of intolerance of hatred towards people because of their sexual orientation, as well as their ethnicity or their beliefs,” he said, adding that “problems could arise if a test with vague and uncertain contents were adopted, which would end up shifting the definition of what is a crime and what is not at the judicial stage, but without giving the judge necessary parameters to distinguish”.

He said the bill risks “making any possible distinction between man and woman punishable, with consequences that can prove to be paradoxical and which in our opinion should be avoided as long as there is time”.

Do not judge

During the Angelus on June 27, the Pope commented on the gospel about the woman suffering from haemorrhage. He said: “Let Jesus look at and heal your heart and heal it. And if you have felt his tender gaze, imitate him. Look around: you will see many people who live beside you feel wounded and alone; they need to feel loved. Jesus asks you for a gaze that does not stop at the outward appearance, but goes to the heart: a gaze not judgemental, but welcoming – Jesus asks us for a non-judgemental gaze. Love alone heals life.”

Welfare and salvation

Fr John Enoch Kaliwamba, secretary of the Archbishop of Lilongwe, Malawi, condemned the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor in his country. He suggested that the Church takes action to bring more justice. “Before we talk of salvation, we have to talk of their welfare on earth. …The people who are joining the worshipping community are the very same people who are actually getting trampled.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)