A Gay Change in the Christian Offing

Catholic priests in India have a rethink after the Pope’s statements on homosexuality

MUMBAI ~ In 2009, when there was talk of repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised homosexuality, the Catholic Church in Kerala tried to pressure the government not to do so. Just last month, during a sermon at St Thomas Church in Goregaon, a priest called homosexuality a great sin.

Most of these views are now undergoing scrutiny in the wake of Pope Francis’ recent comments about how the Church was becoming obsessed with homosexuality, abortion and contraception, and “locking itself up in small things, in small-minded rules”. In an interview to the Rome-based Jesuit journal, La Civilta Cattolica, he reiterated a statement made earlier: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Explaining how the Pope’s comments would impact the faith, Father Nigel Barett, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Bombay, says, “The current Pope is redirecting the Church’s concerns to what it originally was hundreds of years ago—to the poor. This was needed. Over the years, the faith had become focused on issues of morality. There is a certain conservative section that clamours for this. But the current Pope… knows what is important and not.”

In Kerala, Father Paul Thelakkattu, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, known for his hardline views against homosexuality, says, “These are certain indications… but he has not given any evidence of the stand he is going to take. I am not of the opinion that he will change the ethical doctrine of the Church. However, his pastoral attitude to such people will be different.” He adds that decriminalising homosexuality does not make it morally okay.

In response to the Mumbai priest’s sermon last month, just a day before the Pope’s statement, some LGBT activists wrote to Mumbai’s Archbishop. “The Archbishop said that while homosexual marriages aren’t permitted in the faith, the concerned priest made inappropriate remarks. We need to be sensitive in our homilies and how we speak in public,” says Barett.

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Lhendup G Bhutia

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