The Attitude of Gratitude: Why I respect “Amoris Laetitia”

There’s been a buzz on social media since Pope Francis released the document, Amoris Laetitia, meaning The Joy of Love.

The conservative Christians are grinning, believing that the document somehow reaffirmed their bigotry. However, some of us in the LGBT community saw something different in this document. Rather than making assumptions about the Pope’s position on the LGBT community, I’ve chosen a better route. I’ve chosen the attitude of gratitude.

Pope Francis is continuing to change the tone of the Catholic Church.

Tone is different than teaching. It is unrealistic to expect His Holiness to change the Church’s teachings. However, he has been changing the tone of the teachings, especially when it comes to welcoming the LGBT community.

One of James Martin, S.J.’s key takeaways was that gay men and women should be respected. He wrote, “While same-sex marriage is not permitted in the Church, the Pope says that he wants to reaffirm “before all else” that the homosexual person needs to be “respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, and ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression or violence.’”