Pope’s Call for Gay Civil Unions: More Propaganda than Progress
Media sources are exaggerating the story
News sources today are filled with cheery stories about how Pope Francis has called for legal civil unions for same-sex couples, characterizing the step as very progressive for the Roman Catholic Church. But more is going on than meets the eye. While the Pope’s call may represent incremental progress for LGBTQ equality, most reporting overlooks the negative impact it could have around the world.
Pope Francis’s position is less than it seems
The news took me by surprise early this morning when the New York Times pushed out a rather breathless notification of an article announcing Francis’s support for same-sex civil unions.
NBC News concurred with the Time’s celebratory tone, headlining the issue as a “major departure.” The Washington Post practically gushes, saying Francis’s remarks “break from the Catholic Church’s official teaching and mark his clearest support to date for the issue.”
Only Reason came close to raising a critical issue, but while they brushed up against it, they missed addressing it squarely. They call the Pope’s position an “indicator of big cultural shifts” and “a big deal,” noting approvingly that Francis has supported…
